THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) made a significant stride in domestic training, with the opening of the first ever Coast Guard Young Officers’ Course on Thursday.

Speaking at the Coast Guard Ruimveldt, Georgetown headquarters, the Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best related the efforts to train its ranks, particularly Coast Guard officers.

He said Thursday was a very special day in the history of the GDF and, more particularly, in the life of the Coast Guard, because it was the first time in the short but colourful history of the Army that it is conducting Coast Guard Officers training at the inductive stage.

“It is indeed a signal event,” Best remarked to the audience at the function, including Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn, under whose portfolio the maritime sector falls; British High Commissioner, Mr. Fraser Wheeler; Canadian High Commissioner, Mr. Charles Court; Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Subit Kumar Mandal; Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States (U.S.) Embassy, Ms. Karen Williams; Chinese Ambassador, Mr. Zhang Jun Gao; Venezuelan Military Attaché, Brigadier General Roberto Varesano and Brazilian Military Attaché, Colonel Antonio Dos Santos Filho.

The 10 officers being trained were also in attendance when the Chief of Staff delivered the charge to them.

Best recalled that several of the scholarships that were awarded local officers and which Guyana took advantage of, since the mid 1970s, were from the United Kingdom, U.S., Canada and Brazil.

He noted, however, that, due to the changing dynamics, partner nations were no longer able to provide the quantum of scholarships required to keep the officer base at the level required and it was against this backdrop that the Army decided to train its own Coast Guard Officers.

“I am indeed pleased that we have turned that corner and are now conducting, for the first time, our own Coast Guard young officers training, but this effort grew out of tremendous collaboration with our traditional partner nations. It is through training and seminars offered that we were able to harness the skills necessary to produce this effort” Best acknowledged.

Best pointed out that, although Caribbean nations had decided to devise a programme in which maritime officers can be trained regionally, that has not yet come off the ground.

He said the GDF is open to further collaborative partnerships but posited that the local format can be augmented through professional exchanges between the Army and partner nations.

“This training will be offered to our own national maritime partners on the next occasion, as we continue to forge our inter-agency approach successfully practiced in the conduct of the inter-agency maritime law enforcement course conducted by Coast Guard,” Best announced.

He said:“Indeed, we are committed to ensuring that our input further enhances that national security architecture in Guyana. In this regard, we have concluded our organisation analysis and the force is now preparing to conduct a strategic defence review which will position it to determine the defence and development plan for the nation.”

Best warned the young trainees of the formidable task before them, of maintaining the integrity of the country’s maritime space.

“You are being trained at a time when the world’s resources, oil, water and food are under significant challenge and at a time when, right here in Guyana, there are security challenges to order and peace,” he told them.

Best exhorted the group to remember that they form a part of the national security architecture of this country, pointing to the pivotal role that the Army plays in it.

Giving a synopsis of the four months long stint, Lieutenant Commander Derrick Erskine said that it will impart to the participants the requisite knowledge in several subject areas.

He said, at the conclusion, they will be able to competently perform duties as Officer of the Watch and Craft Commander aboard any Coast Guard vessel and of District Commander at various Coast Guard locations.

Erskine explained that the exercise is constituted of four elements, lessons, discussions, demonstrations and practice.