PARAGON BASE, Barbados — In preparation for the multinational, multi-domain exercise TRADEWINDS 24, 167th Theater Sustainment Command, 471st Engineer Company and the Barbados Defence Force are establishing logistical and life supporting functions for the more than 1,000 exercise participants.
Hosted in Barbados, TW24 aims to enhance interoperability and counter regional threats in a field training exercise and command post exercise.
“The 167th TSC and 731st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion’s mission at TW24 is joint reception staging onward movement and integration as well as overall sustainment for over 700 personnel at six sites around Barbados,” said Maj. Destry Vines, TW24 mayor cell officer in charge. “The 167th with additional units, to include medical, engineer as well as water purification units, are all assisting in the life-supporting functions during the exercise.”
TRADEWINDS is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored, regionally oriented annual exercise held since 1984 that promotes regional security cooperation by involving forces from partner nations, primarily from the Caribbean Basin, the U.S., Canada, France, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Twenty-six nations and multiple regional organizations will convene in Barbados for TW24, May 4-16, to train on ground, sea, cyber, interagency, special operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and command post tracks.
With the volume of participants and the scale of the activities during TW24, the logistical and sustainment mission is vital to the success of the exercise and the well-being of the warfighters, added Vines.
“I like to say that our mission is to provide the 4 Bs: beans, beds, baths and bullets,” said Vines. “These are the things that all warfighters need to successfully complete their mission. Without food and water, beds, showers and especially ammunition, Soldiers are not able to perform, let alone survive.”
Vines added that the 731st CSSB, a 167th TSC subordinate unit, is providing mayor cell support with seamless sustainment, and life support to all forces operating at Paragon Base, Police Training School and Barbados Coast Guard Base-Pelican in support training objectives while strengthening regional partnerships.
In anticipation of the arrival of participants, Army Reservists with the 471st Engineer Company and the 603rd Engineer Detachment worked alongside service members from the Barbados Defence Force to establish accommodations for the exercise participants.
“Not only have our Soldiers been setting up living quarters for the participants, but we’ve also been setting up secure perimeters and providing logistical support between Paragon and Pelican bases,” said 2nd Lt. Luis Roman Gonzalez officer in charge for the 471st Engineer Company supporting TW24. “The BDF helped us a lot over the past few weeks and were essential to us completing our tasks on time.”
This 39th iteration of Tradewinds is nested under the Joint Chiefs of Staff Large Scale Global Exercise 24, demonstrating combined force cooperation and a shared commitment to global stability, peace and prosperity.
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