– Army urges residents of Upper-Berbice River to stay calm during Exercise Green Heart

RESIDENTS, who reside in communities along the Upper-Berbice River, were asked to remain calm and not be alarmed by the increased presence of uniformed soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), in the area.

According to a press statement from the Department of Public Information (DPI), GDF is engaged in “Exercise Green Heart” in the areas between the Mara Settlement and the Tacama Waterfront. The aim of this exercise is to train the force in Close-Country Operations.

“As such, there is no need for alarm or panic due to the increased presence and passage of uniformed ranks throughout the communities, farms and along the river,” said DPI.
Additionally, during the exercise, the GDF will be conducting medical outreach programmes for riverain communities between Mara Settlement and Tacama waterfront from August 10 to August 12.

Exercise Green Heart commenced on Monday, August 5, and will conclude on Friday, August 16, 2019. The exercise is like any other annual Force Tactical Exercise, which is intended to assess and test the preparedness of troops to conduct operations in the jungle, and, at the same time, identify deficiencies which could be corrected to ensure full competency in the environment. President David Granger had said his government has set about re-tooling the GDF since assuming office, as the force had suffered from years of organisational and other neglect.

Since 2015, there have been a plethora of changes in the GDF, including improvements to the Basic Recruitment Course. Officers are now being trained in equitation to enable them to conduct horseback patrols.