BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Exercise Tradewinds 2017, a multi-national maritime security and disaster response exercise in the Caribbean, began with an opening ceremony welcoming 20 partner nations in Bridgetown, Barbados, Tuesday.
During the opening ceremony, Barbados Defence Force Chief of Staff Col. Glyne S. Grannum reminded participating countries of how important the exercise is.
"As I have the privilege to welcome the participants of the exercise, I urge you to use this opportunity to develop and to hone your skills as defense and security emergency response practitioners," said Grannum. "You are encouraged to approach the exercise with a reinvigorated focus maximizing the training interactions with the local, regional and external-regional subject matter experts.
The scenario for exercise Tradewinds 2017 was designed based on the two island states of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago being severely affected by transnational organized criminal activity from an external source.
The theme for Tradewinds 2017 is "A Seamless States Partnership for a Secure Region."