The Saint Lucia contingent was among security force personnel from several countries taking part in special air operations on Monday as part of TRADEWINDS 2023 in Guyana.
The training included deploying from a helicopter 10-15 feet above the ground using a thick rope.
According to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Fast Rope Insertion and Extraction System (FRIES) allows soldiers to infiltrate an area from a helicopter rapidly.
The GDF disclosed that the technique is particularly useful when a helicopter cannot land, enabling time-sensitive missions and effectively deploying troops in challenging terrains.
The exercise would enable security personnel to access an area if a helicopter cannot land, including when disaster strikes.
Saint Lucia’s Rubinia Joseph was one of only two females taking part in the training.
State-owned Guyana Chronicle quoted Joseph of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) saying she felt ‘pumped up’ after the experience of ‘fast-roping’.
Noting that Saint Lucia was in a hurricane belt, she observed that search and rescue missions occur every year.
“I think that skill [fast-roping] is paramount to us,” the RSLPF officer told the Guyana Chronicle.
Joseph also observed that the technique could be crucial in how the RSLPF performs its duties.
TRADEWINDS 2023 includes security exercises involving ground, air, sea, and cyber operations training.
In addition to fostering regional security, the exercise aims to expand the region’s capability to mitigate, plan for, and respond to crises while increasing regional training capacity and interoperability.
The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) sponsors TRADEWINDS 2023, partnering this year with 1,500 security force personnel from 20 countries for the exercise.
ST LUCIA HAS NO USE FOR THAT TRAINING JUMPING FROM A HELICOPTER, WE DONT EVRN HAVE SUCH. TRAIN THEM TO FIGHT CRIME AND STOP TAKING BRIBES AND STOP BEING ON THE CRIMINAL SIDE.
PUT THAT MONEY TO HELP LOW INCOME FAMILIES AND FOR HEALTH CARE.
Does anyone else smell rotten fish blowing their way from TRADEWINDS 2023? The security force personnel: against whom are they being trained to protect us from?
The greatest and only threat to the security of Caribbean people is the US Empire. Isn’t it strange then, that the US is training Caribbean “security force personnel” to protect us from the US? Does not make sense; what then is the true reason?
I smell a Grenada-like invasion against Haiti! The schemers in the US plan to use Caribbean “forces” to invade & occupy Haiti (they’ll tell the world it’s “black on black” responsibility to protect); while they get “carte blanche” to pillage Haiti’s natural resources.
Great skill training , yet when will St. Lucia ever get an EMT helicopter for emergency’s? 2 Millions invested in a mediocre carnival mayhem yet what about health care? And Wasco?