By U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS – United States Navy Diver 2nd Class Brian Couture, Search Main Dive Unit of Newport, Rhode Island, a Waterboro, Maine native, is participating in Tradewinds 2017, an annual, multi-national exercise in the Caribbean Sea.
Couture, a 10-year Navy veteran, joined 2,500 other service members from 20 countries who are participating in Tradewinds 2017 exercises in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago from June 6-17.
Tradewinds, sponsored by United States Southern Command, headquartered in Miami 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 terrorism and to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
During the Caribbean-focused exercise, Couture, a 1998 graduate of Noble High School, helped ensure a seamless partnership, cross-trained with other service members to ensure a better response to natural disasters and land and maritime threats, including illicit trafficking in the critical region.
Partner nations participating in the exercise include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago as well as military personnel from the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.