Louisiana native participates in Caribbean exercise Tradewinds 2017

Photo By Garrett Dipuma | Louisiana Army National Guard Spc. Lance Leblanc, a cook assigned to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat team from Morgan City, Louisiana, takes a break from serving breakfast to hundreds of hungry service members from the U.S., Mexico, Barbados and other nations during Exercise Tradewinds 2017 at Paragon Base in Christ Church, Barbados, June 10, 2017. Military and civilians from 20 countries are participating in this year’s exercise in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, which runs from June 6-17, 2017. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Garrett L. Dipuma)  

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS

06.10.2017

Story by Sgt. Garrett Dipuma 

241st Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Louisiana Army National Guard Spc. Lance Leblanc, a cook serving in D Company, 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Jeanerette, Louisiana, is participating in Tradewinds 2017, an annual, multi-national exercise in the Caribbean Sea.

Leblanc, who enlisted in his senior year of high school 5 years ago, joined 2,500 other service members from 20 countries in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago from June 6-17.

This isn’t Leblanc’s first time abroad with the Guard; last year, he conducted annual training in Germany. “These [training opportunities] are always a great experience,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to work in different regions with different cultures.”

Tradewinds, sponsored by U.S. Southern Command, headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a joint and combined exercise conducted in conjunction with partner nations to enhance the collective abilities of defense forces and constabularies to counter transnational organized crime and terrorism, and to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

During the Caribbean-focused exercise, Leblanc, a 2013 graduate of Jeanerette High School, trained with other service members to ensure a better response to natural disasters and land and maritime threats, including illicit trafficking in the region.

Partner nations participating in the exercise include Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago as well as military personnel from the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

• Date Taken: 06.10.2017
• Date Posted: 06.11.2017 12:14
• Story ID: 237275
• Location: CHRIST CHURCH, BB
• Hometown: JEANERETTE, LA, US