Brooksville, Florida resident participates in Caribbean exercise Tradewinds

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Russell | Florida Army National Guard Spc. Mark Gotthardt, assigned to B Company, 1-185th Assault Helicopter Battalion, answers questions from local schoolchildren on board Paragon Base, June 7, 2017. The students visited the base to participate in a Tradewinds 2017 community relations event that allowed local school children to meet with members of the armed forces from multiple participating countries, ask them questions and check out their equipment up close. Tradewinds is a joint, combined exercise conducted in conjunction with partner nations to enhance the collective abilities of defense forces and constabularies to counter transnational organized crime and to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Melissa K. Russell/Released)  

BROOKSVILLE, FL, UNITED STATES

06.11.2017

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Russell 

241st Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Florida Army National Guard Spc. Mark Gotthardt, a Jonesboro, Georgia native serving with B Company, 1-185th Assault Helicopter Battalion, is participating in Tradewinds 2017, an annual, multinational exercise in the Caribbean Sea.

Gotthardt, a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crew chief, joined 2,500 other service members from 20 countries in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago from June 6-17.

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, Russell, a 2001 graduate of Palmdale 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: 06.11.2017
• Date Posted: 06.14.2017 09:48
• Story ID: 237711
• Location: BROOKSVILLE, FL, US
• Hometown: JONESBORO, GA, US