By U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Seaman Mia Mauro, a native of Derby, Connecticut currently serving on USCG Cutter Winslow Griesser is participating in Tradewinds 2017, an annual, multi-national exercise in the Caribbean Sea.
Mauro, who just completed her first four months in the service, joined 2,500 other service members from 20 countries in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago from June 6-17, 2017.
Tradewinds, sponsored by United States 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, Mauro, a 2016 graduate of Derby 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 and 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.