In keeping with the organization’s Maritime Security Plan which focuses on decentralization and enhancing responsiveness to the security environment nationally and regionally, members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Public and the Royal Bahamas Police Force recently completed a Joint Combined Exercise Training (JCET) on 28th July 2021.
Participants of the six-week training exercise consisted of twenty (25) RBDF Marines, along with five (5) Police Officers. The training was designed to enhance future joint mission success and to ensure that Marines trained in various aspects of infantry and tactics are embedded in the wider Service to be able to respond when and if required. From a more national or strategic viewpoint the incorporation of Officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force was aimed as a capacity builder, and at enhancing the interoperability of the two partner organizations, as the country now sees more than ever, joint operations between our the Organizations.
In attendance at the graduation ceremony at Coral Harbour Base were Captain Shonedel Pinder, Deputy Commander Defence Force, Captain Henry Daxon, Acting Captain Coral Harbour, RBDF Senior Command Team, Captain Julian Holmes, Captain, US Army Special Forces, and Police Superintendent Dexter Hanna.
In bringing remarks on behalf of the Commander Defence Force, Commodore Raymond King, Captain Pinder thanked Captain Holmes and his team of US Army personnel, who, along with the team of RBDF Marines conducted the training. According to Captain Pinder, “We are most grateful to our US partners for including troop leading procedures and site exploitation to this course, a step further from the usual for many of our junior Marines.”
Aspects of the training included physical training, overnight field exercises, watermanship, small boat operations, troop leading procedures and range work, which included Marksmanship and Sharp Shooting. The RBDF participants included Marines from various departments throughout the Organization, including the Commando Squadron, Military Police and Force Protection unit, Military Aid to Civil Authority, Squadron, Administration Department and the Medical Facility. All of the participants were presented with certificates by Captain Pinder, along with his Senior Command Team.
The Defence Force’s partnership with the Police Force, as well as with other law enforcement agencies, is in keeping with the Commander Defence Force’s intent and The Bahamas Government’s overall strategic agenda to enhance multi-agency security cooperation.
