Exeter Native Participates in US, Caribbean Military Exercise

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Russell | 180617-N-RG360-0128 NASSAU, Bahamas (June 17, 2018) U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Bryson Desjardins, of New Hampshire Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, discusses procedures for safely conducting troop loading and unloading of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter with Mexican Marines during a familiarization and cold-load training event on board the Royal Bahamas Defence Force’s Coral Harbour Base as part of Tradewinds 2018. Tradewinds is a U.S. Southern Command sponsored exercise that provides participating Caribbean nations the opportunity to improve security and disaster response capabilities. This year’s focus is on countering transnational organized crime in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Melissa K. Russell/Released)  

EXETER, NH, UNITED STATES

06.17.2018

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Marie Montez 

Navy Reserve - Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

NASSAU, Bahamas – New Hampshire Army National Guard Pvt. 1st Class Bryson Desjardins, an Exeter, New Hampshire native assigned to 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, is participating in Tradewinds 2018 – a joint and multinational military exercise that takes place annually in the Caribbean.

The 2016 graduate of Exeter High School has been in the armed forces for one year. He is joined by 1,700 military and civilian personnel from 21 partner nations in the Bahamas and St. Kitts and Nevis from June 4-21.

Tradewinds, sponsored by U.S. Southern Command, is an annual joint, multinational and interagency training exercise conducted in conjunction with partner nations to increase regional cooperation in complex multinational security operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.

During the Caribbean-focused exercise, Desjardins, an UH-60 Blackhawk crew chief, is training with other servicemembers to ensure a better response to natural disasters and land and maritime threats, including illicit trafficking in the region.

Nations participating in the exercise include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and the United States.

• Date Taken: 06.17.2018
• Date Posted: 06.19.2018 17:54
• Story ID: 281569
• Location: EXETER, NH, US
• Hometown: EXETER, NH, US