BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THREE women are among a batch of 31 from five Regional Security System (RSS) Member States that is currently participating in a 26-day Advanced Patrol Course in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The women are Constable Kimar Peters of the Royal Antigua/Barbuda Police Force and Constables Amanda Thomas and Lafleur Williams of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.
The Course commenced yesterday (Nov. 3) with a simple but very significant Opening Ceremony at Camp Springfield, Headquarters of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF).
It is being funded by the RSS Headquarters and the Narcotics Affairs Section of the United States Military Liaison Office in Barbados with Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) Christopher Blenman as the Course Officer, who is ably assisted by WO1 Dave Caismiro and six Sergeants drawn from the Barbados Defence Force, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, the Royal Grenada Police Force and the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.
The Course is aimed at assessing the ability and resourcefulness of the participants to survive and operate in a hostile environment with limited logistical and manpower support.
This, according to WO1 Blenman, would be done through a series of high-impact activities which would require the participants to survive within a jungle environment for long periods and also in remote and inaccessible areas in order to conduct surveillance, locate and apprehend narcotics producers, traffickers, and capture terrorists or other criminals who would choose to move to the jungle in an attempt to elude law enforcement agencies.
In his address to the participants, Blenman said: “Your ability to live off the land and function as a team will be critical to each and everyone’s success on this course. You will be exposed to practical work in order to enhance your operational skills.”
He said that among the subjects to be covered on the Course are Physical Training, Identification of Illegal Drugs, Fire and Manoeuvre with Live Rounds, Close Quarter Battle, Weapon Handling, Map Reading and Navigation, Jungle Survival, Narcotics Eradication, and Command and Control.
“This training targets personnel from Special Services Units, Drug Squads/Units, Task Forces, CID and Quick Response Units along with members from the Defence Forces of the Member States who are actively engaged in drug interdiction operations and are the main responders in the event of any national emergency,” Blenman added.
He stressed that the participants’ success would be assessed throughout the course and that a number of practical tests would be conducted.
The Course Officer however cautioned that any trainee found lacking discipline or consistently performing below the minimum acceptable standards of the RSS Training Institute would be returned to his or her parent Unit.
On the other hand, he indicated that on successful completion of the course, the participants would be graded and those who excel would be recommended to attend follow-up courses.
Blenman also stressed that the training is critical in the capacity building of RSS Member States personnel to respond to the issues of drug trafficking and other threats “to the security of our countries and, by extension, the region”, adding that the ability of the RSS to maintain operational readiness of the Units involved would accrue to the benefit of the sub-region’s security.
In his closing remarks, the Course Officer advised: “From today you will journey into the unknown. Work as a team because there is no I in team. The strong must bring the weak and the weak must be willing to be pushed by the strong.”
In his brief remarks, Commander of the SKNDF, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Wallace told the participants not to take their training lightly and to equip themselves with the necessary skills to protect their country’s integrity and its people when called upon in a crisis situation.
He advised them to disregard the perception harboured by many that security forces in the Caribbean do not have to concentrate their training on preparation for war or conflicts that might eventually lead to that.
Wallace pointed out that conflicts had existed in the Caribbean since in the days of Christopher Columbus when the Europeans were in search of wealth, adding that they had fought against each other for the possession of territories.
From that backdrop, Lt. Col. Wallace reminded the participants of modern day conflicts that occurred in the Caribbean region that required the involvement of well-trained members of the security forces.
He made reference to a number of those including the July 1990 attempted coup in Trinidad and Tobago, the 1983 US invasion of Grenada, the 1979 Grenadines Union Uprising and the 1967 attempted coup in St. Kitts.
The local Army Commander explicated to the participants that because of the training to which law enforcement personnel, especially the military, are exposed in the Caribbean, they should put themselves on par with their counterparts in the developed countries, adding that the only difference is that they possess more and better equipment and other resources than what are available in the Caribbean.
The Advanced Patrol Course, the first for this year, was declared open by Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for Crime, Ian Queeley, who shared some of his experience with the trainees.
He informed them that he had successfully completed a number of courses, including the one which they are currently attending, and was also an instructor on courses of similar nature.
ACP Queeley, who in the recent past held the position of Director of Plans, Intelligence and Law Enforcement with the Regional Security System, told the participants that they could not buy experience and that “the training will put you in good stead, both in your personal and professional life”.
He told them that in these times law enforcement has become more challenging, noting that marijuana production is more prevalent and that its planters would want to protect their interest at all costs.
“They would plant it in the jungle and you therefore need to be competent in Map Reading and Navigation and Jungle Survival,” Queeley advised while explaining to them the occasion when an individual discarded the use of his compass and was temporarily misplaced for two days.
ACP Queeley emphasised the importance of the course and noted that not only would it be beneficial to the participants and the Units from which they came, but also to national development of their respective countries.
The Crime Chief too wished them success and expressed that he would like to see all of them graduating on Friday, November 28, 2014.
Two of the participants were drawn from the SKNDF, a similar amount from the Antigua/Barbuda Defence Force, three from the Royal Antigua/Barbuda Police Force, two from the Barbados Defence Force, three from the Royal Barbados Police Force, five from the Royal Grenada Police Force, a similar amount from the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, and nine from the RSCNPF.
The Regional Security System is an international agreement for the defence and security of the Eastern Caribbean region. It was created out of a need for collective response to security threats that were impacting on the stability of the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
It was established on October 29, 1982 when Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Barbados to provide mutual assistance whenever requested.
The signatories had agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist each other, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters and threats to national security.
Following independence in 1983, St. Kitts and Nevis became a Member State of the RSS and Grenada followed two years later after the US invasion of that country, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury.
The MOU was updated in 1992 and the RSS acquired juridical status on March 5, 1996 under the Treaty signed at St. Georges, Grenada.
