With increased interests in Coastguard operations and the limited scholarship places available, 11 Officers of the Guyana Defence Force are in the midst of a local 16-week training programme.The officers are being exposed to several aspects of training in the field of Coastguard operations by local personnel who were previously exposed to international expertise.Members of the Coast Guard Young Officers’ Course #1, pose with Commodore Gary Best, Colonel Mark Phillips and their instructors. This is the first locally organised Coast Guard training programme for such officers.Traditionally, they were sent overseas for training, in GDF partner countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and China.Over the years, the opportunity for scholarships has been reduced and the Guyana Defence Force has been forced to take a decision to fashion a training programme, utilizing the services of those officers who would have benefited from previously obtained scholarships to impart the knowledge gained.However, the GDF hopes that its overseas partners will be in a position to provide assistance for the local programme with input in specialized areas.This hope is manifested by the fact that the overseas partners have not discontinued their assistance altogether.At the moment, a GDF Lieutenant Commander is undergoing training in China, while another officer and an Able Rating (AR) departed for on the job training with the three Brazilian military vessels that recently visited Guyana.The local coastguard training programme commenced on April 27, last, and is scheduled to be completed by August.Commodore Gary Best, who addressed the official launch yesterday, at the GDF Coast Guard headquarters, urged the participants to apply themselves and make the most use of the training.Commodore Best, himself a former member of the coast guard, thanked the military partners of the GDF for their role in facilitating training of local army ranks in the past.Among the attendees at yesterday’s ceremony were Transport Minister Robeson Benn, official from the British, American, Indian and Chinese Embassies as well as the Brazil’s Military Attaché to Guyana and members of the Police Force.
