Defence Team News Interview with LCol Stephen Hale, on Exercise TRADEWINDS
Video / May 12, 2022
Transcript
SVH: The 37th iteration of Exercise TRADEWINDS is currently underway in Belize and Mexico. This multinational exercise combines ground, air, sea and cyber efforts to counter transnational organized crime, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Today, we’re joined by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Hale, Canadian Contingent Commander to tell us more. Can you tell us a bit more about Exercise TRADEWINDS?
SH: Yes, certainly. This is, as you mentioned, the 37th year for Exercise TRADEWINDS. It generally goes country-to-country on a rotational basis, and is led by U.S. Southern Command. This year, we have the 23 partner nations participating in the exercise, and we’re based in Belize City, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico for this duration.
SVH: You mentioned there were many nations participating in the exercise. Why is it important for the Canadian Armed Forces to be involved?
SH: For Canada, we have a lot of people in our own country who come from the Caribbean basin, and we have often been called to respond to crises in the Caribbean basin. We have national interests that are at play here, and for us to be involved and increase the interoperability amongst our Caribbean partners, is a primal effort for us to undertake.
SVH: What Canadian Armed Forces assets and personnel are deployed on the exercise?
SH: This year, we’re a bit bigger than we were last year, due to the COVID restrictions. I have a full mentor team largely comprised from 5th Canadian Division, who will be mentoring the Caribbean Task Force headquarters on operational planning and creating borders and so forth, and running an operation. We also have HMCS Harry DeWolf, based out of the port of Cozumel. They’ll be doing… mentoring the systems and disaster relief operations and ship boarding drills and alike, with a larger flotilla of air. And finally, based in Belize City as well, we have a dive team who will be training our multinational dive partners, on tactics, techniques and procedures that are relevant to modern diving.
SVH: Is there anything you’d like to add?
SH: I would just like to say it’s great for Canada to be able to showcase our abilities here in the region. And the partners fully embrace what we are here to provide them with training on. And overall, we will become more interoperable together.
SVH: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Sir, and good luck with the remainder of the exercise.
SH: Thank you very much.