NASSAU, Bahamas -- U.S. Coast Guardsmen from District 7, Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment, provided instruction in compliant and non-compliant boarding to service members from the Royal Bahamas, St. Vincent and Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Haiti, Trinidad-Tobago, Belize, Barbados and the Dominican Republic Defence Forces at Royal Bahamas Defence Force Base in Coral Harbour, March 6 - 8, during Exercise Tradewinds 2009.
“In this day and age, terrorists and drug runners are looking for ‘soft spots’ and I believe that by working (together) we have an excellent opportunity to impact the evil forces aligned against us,” said the U.S. Charge D’ Affaires to the Dominican Republic, Honorable Roland W. Bullen, while explaining the U.S., Dominican relations in an interview during the exercise portion occurring there. “I always refer to the U.S. Coast Guard as the ‘911’ of the Caribbean because whenever there are problems, they’re there.”
As part of Tradewinds’ goal to increase maritime security, the compliant and non-compliant boarding training will help to ensure partner nations are able to execute the necessary measures when called upon to board a vessel, with the appropriate use of force, to prevent illegal trafficking.
"The focus of this year's activities on maritime interdiction is critical and timely, and is in line with our determination that every effort should be made to prevent a significant upsurge in drug trafficking in the Caribbean region," said Bahamas National Security Minister O. A. "Tommy" Turnquest, in the opening ceremonies of the event March 4.
Meanwhile, back in Coral Harbour Coast Guardsmen began by instructing their partner nation counterparts in the proper way to approach a vessel occupant in a non-aggressive manner - slowly walking toward the subject with their hands open, palms facing the subject.
“When dealing with compliant occupants of a vessel, it’s like dealing with (peaceful) protestors,” said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Matthew Rouse, stationed out of Mayport, Fla.
Though not necessarily immediately following instructions, “the occupants are non-combatant,” he said.
If the suspect vessel’s occupants become aggressive and show resistance to the service members, but were still not attacking them, the students were shown techniques such as pressure points and handcuffing procedures to detain the suspect.
“Non-compliant [occupants] need a little bit more convincing to cooperate,” said Able Seaman Miska Clarke, with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. “Whether it is talking more harsh, getting more physical or using deadly force to achieve the goal of your boarding.”
If the situation escalates and the occupants become violent or aggressive toward the service member attempting to detain them, the aggressor would at that point be classified as non-compliant.
“Non-compliant boarding is a boarding in which the boarding team encounters resistance or resentment from the crew toward the law enforcement presence,” said Chief Petty Officer Gustavo Tirado, a native of Islaverde, Puerto Rico.
Partner nation service members were instructed in escalation of force and how to properly evaluate when an occupant is non-compliant and keep control of the situation, with the correct course of action.
“It’s very important for the partner nations to learn these skills because they will be conducting these operations in the future,” said Rouse. “There are a lot of people out there up to no good and we want to ensure that our partner nations’ service members will have the knowledge to deal with those threats.”
Rouse, whose Det. is based out of Miami, said he enjoys the opportunity to train other service members and show them how the Coast Guard operates, as well as build camaraderie that will benefit all when having to cooperate in real-world events.
“It’s a great chance for us to share with them how we board vessels and also shows them we’re more than willing to support them,” said Rouse.
Nations participating in Exercise Tradewinds 2009 include Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Tradewinds ‘09 includes personnel from the U.S. Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, JIATF-S, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Drug Enforcement Administration. Additionally, partner nations’ maritime security forces, Royal Marine Commandos and the personnel from the Caribbean Regional Security System are participating.