Southern Partnership Station Partners with Barbados in Port Security

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS (NNS) -- Members of the Royal Barbados Defense Force along with civilian and military counterparts from six Caribbean nations are training on the finer points of port security during the first of two Southern Partnership Station 2009 (SPS) visits in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission goal is primarily information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region.

Instructors from Naval Criminal Investigative Service Security Training Assistance and Assessment Team taught 17 students about container, vehicle and personnel inspections, pier security assessments, entry control points and anti-terrorism techniques at the port facility and in classrooms on high speed vessel Swift (HSV 2).

During the course, hands-on training is a daily event. Instructors take the students out to show them exactly how to apply lessons learned in the classroom. The group walks the pier and inspects every aspect for security risks. They observe and critique elements such as lighting, entrances and exits, and traffic flow. The next day they may be in a warehouse profiling and inspecting cargo containers. Another day finds them scouring a vehicle, searching for training aids the instructors have hidden throughout.

The purpose of the training is twofold: first, learn the techniques. Second, learn to teach them.

"We're looking for them to get enough knowledge to go back and teach the course to their personnel," said instructor Master Chief Master-at-Arms Francisco T. Garcia, from Brooklyn, New York. "The class has been very enthusiastic and proactive, and they ask a lot of serious questions. Even the students with experience are still learning."

During the visit to Bridgetown, SPS Sailors are also training with representatives of Antigua and Barbuda; Dominica; Grenada; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; and St. Lucia. All of these nations have a crucial interest in port security since their ports are their connection to the world and the primary infrastructures for their tourism industry.

"I worked in airport security for a long time," said Lance Cpl. Hartley Carew, Royal Barbados Defense Force. "Harbor security is very different and antiterrorism skills are very important. Learning how a terrorist operates and how they can penetrate to do damage teaches you how to set up your port in a much more secure way. I would like to see more of this training conducted in the Caribbean. If we have a broad idea of what's happening and how to set up, I think everything will be safe."

After Barbados, SPS is scheduled to visit Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

The mission is coordinated through U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (NAVSO) with partner nations to meet their specific training requests. As the Naval Component Command of SOUTHCOM, NAVSO's mission is to direct U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies within the maritime environment. Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, theater security cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.

Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO, exercising operational control of assigned forces in the SOUTHCOM area of focus.

For more information on U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. Fourth Fleet, go to www.navy.mil/local/cusns.>