Divers teach partner nations in Caribbean

A Caribbean diver conducts a hull inspection as part of a counter-mine training scenario during Exercise Tradewinds 16 in Montego Bay, Jamaica on June 20. Photo by Sgt Yannick Bédard, CF Combat Camera

Capt Christopher Daniel, CF Combat Camera ~

More than ten clearance divers from the Royal Canadian Navy’s Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) and Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) were operating out of Discovery Bay, Jamaica, for Exercise Tradewinds 2016 from May to June.

The diving component of the exercise started with the Canadian divers teaching the Ship’s Team Diver Course to Caribbean trainees. After that, the trainees applied their new skills by conducting diving in support of fleet operations.

“The training events that we’ve done have been ship’s diver-related scenarios, which include hull searches, jetty sweeps, bottom searches and minor salvage projects,” said Lieutenant(Navy) J.R. Gallant, Executive Officer of Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) and officer-in-charge of the Canadian dive contingent at Exercise Tradewinds 2016.

These training scenarios help to enhance the diving skills of partner nations and increase their overall level of interoperability within the region through instruction in areas such as basic dive theory, diving physics and underwater navigation, and search and recovery techniques.

“Everything we’ve taught our partner nation divers they could be called upon to do to protect the Caribbean region,” said Lt(N) Gallant.

Leading Seaman Paul Paquette is a Canadian clearance diver from Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) working as an assistant instructor during the exercise. “My job is to ensure all candidates learn diving to high standards so they can go out on their own and be safe and proficient in the water,” he said.

According to Lance Corporal Ameal Douglas, a diver from the Jamaican Defence Force, the exercise has been “a wonderful experience.”

“We’ve learned a lot from our Canadian counterparts as well as with our partner nations here in the Caribbean,” he said. “I do hope that next year we could do this again and even more.”

Exercise Tradewinds is a multinational maritime interdiction, ground security and interagency exercise led by the U.S. Southern Command.

Participating nations in this year’s exercise included Canada, United States, France, the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.