ST. KITTS AND NEVIS – Tradewinds 2018, a multinational maritime security and disaster response exercise in the Caribbean, will begin in St. Kitts and Nevis June 4 with 21 partner nations scheduled to participate.
This Caribbean-focused exercise provides an opportunity for participating nations to improve interoperability, including senior-leader collaboration.
Tradewinds is a combined joint exercise conducted with partner nations to bolster the collective abilities of defense forces and constabularies to counter transnational organized crime and terrorism, as well as the capability to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
The start of Tradewinds 2018 coincides with the first days of hurricane season and enhances the region’s ongoing preparations for potential storms during the summer and autumn.
St. Kitts and Nevis will host phase one from June 4-12, and the Bahamas will host the second phase from June 13-21.
Partner nations participating in the exercise include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as military personnel from the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
SOUTHCOM, located in Doral, Florida, is one of 10 unified commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and security cooperation with partner nations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.