SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - The crew of the U.S. Army Vessel Matomoros arrived in Santo Domingo, Thursday, March 5, 2009, to participate in Tradewinds 2009. The crew of the Matomoros will train partner nations in maritime law enforcement. The U.S. Southern Command presented the Dominican Republic three 32-foot defender class Boston Whalers to enhance the Dominican Republic Naval Forces. Tradewinds is a premier U.S. Southern Command-sponsored annual exercise conducted in the region. This year's joint, combined inter-agency exercise was held in Dominican Republic and trained a multinational force for disaster relief/humanitarian operations and enhanced regional security. This exercise is intended to provide peacetime training opportunities to improve the coordination and cooperation between the United States and civil and military forces throughout the region. It enabled U.S. military units to deploy to overseas locations to assist in relief operations and critical inter-agency operations. U.S. Coast Guard video/ Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Evanson.
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