Photo By Sgt. Scott Tynes | Petty Officer Rexford Meade, a coxswain with the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force,...... read more read more
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CHRISTOPHE HARBOUR, St. Kitts – A desire to serve his country and honor a deceased sister led to Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) Petty Officer Rexford Meade’s participation in Phase One of Tradewinds 2015.
Meade, a coxswain for a 33-foot Special Purpose Craft - Law Enforcement boat, is one of six ABDF defence members assigned to the multinational maritime security and disaster response exercise being held in St. Kitts and Nevis that includes participation from 19 partner nations.
The objective of Tradewinds is to strengthen the capacity of nations in the Caribbean to respond to natural disasters, as well as land and maritime threats that including illicit trafficking.
Meade, an Antigua native, said he decided to serve in the ABDF because it was something he wanted to do since childhood.
“I would always go to the coast guard base and go fishing,” he said. “I said to myself then that this was something I wanted to do.”
It was the death of his sister, Latrica Roberts, on his birthday 14 years ago, however, that ignited his desire to serve. In the ABDF, he said, unit assignments are dependent on manpower needs and not individual requests.
“She had planned to join. So, to honor her I decided I would,” Meade said. “At that time, I was fortunate to get the Coast Guard.”
The ABDF Coast Guard is primarily responsible for safety, immigration and custom inspections, which include drug interdiction and human smuggling as well as search and rescue.
This is Meade’s fourth Tradewinds exercise, including last year’s exercise which was hosted by Antigua and Barbuda.
“It helps me to learn new information and procedures,” he said. “It is also a stepping stone to forge new ties with other islands and countries.”
During the exercise, participants are given the opportunity to learn and share maritime security techniques that their country has found successful and develop common practices that could be used by multiple coast guards within the Caribbean.
Meade also said that this exercise has given him the opportunity to build professional relations with coast guardsmen from other countries.
While conducting small boat maneuvers and pursuit drills in Christophe Harbour on June 1, he was assigned to a boat team with coast guardsmen from Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S.
“It was very beneficial,” Meade said. “I explained how we execute pursuits and learned other ways to do it. I learn something new every time we do this [exercise].”
He said he looks forward to the rest of the exercise as they continue to share techniques on other aspects of boat operations.
This year marks the 31st annual Tradewinds exercise. Phase one of the exercise will continue until June 9 before moving to Belize to beginning phase two of Tradewinds 2015.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2015 07:00 |
| Story ID: | 165307 |
| Location: | ST. KITT'S, AG |
| Hometown: | ANTIGUA, AG |
| Web Views: | 468 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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