Antigua & Barbuda recently finalised preparations to host the United States Southern Command (US SOUTHCOM) sponsored annual military exercise TRADEWINDS for the year 2011. Minister of National Security Dr. Errol Cort said the exercise, scheduled for March, will not only provide a very useful training platform for the country’s security forces, but also provide great economic benefits.
The exercise will consist of a two-week training phase in the relevant law enforcement, maritime and military disciplines, and towards the end of the training, there will be an introduction into a number of scripted exercises or notional events, culminating with a two to three-day Field Training Exercise (FTX), with the participants given opportunity to apply the recently acquired skill sets. The exercise has grown annually in participation, from initially only the Eastern Caribbean (RSS) and a limited number of Caricom States, to most Caricom States, and more recently attracting Central and South American Countries’ participation. TRADEWINDS 2011 is expected to attract over 1,000 personnel from the participating nations. Antigua & Barbuda has hosted the exercise twice in the past decade.
In 2002 it was a complex exercise with St. Kitts/Nevis as co-host and again in 2005 when Antigua & Barbuda hosted a tailored version of the exercise in preparation for Cricket World Cup 2007.