NASSAU, Bahamas – U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Sam Hawksley, a Tehachapi, California native assigned to USCG Cutter Charles David Jr., is participating in Tradewinds 2018 – a joint and multinational military exercise that takes place annually in the Caribbean.
The 2012 graduate of Tehachapi High School is a four-year veteran of the armed forces. 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, Hawksley is providing culinary services in support of servicemembers training aboard the ship.
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.