Belize Coast Guard to expand Special Ops Group as Officers Deploy to Jamaica for Training

Over the weekend, twenty Belize Coast Guard (BCG) members traveled to Jamaica to begin training for possible deployment to Haiti. The men will spend four weeks in the island nation alongside military forces from Jamaica and the Bahamas. The Belizean sailors were selected from the BCG’s special operations unit, tasked with conducting high-level operations in the country. Commandant of the BCG Rear Admiral Elton Bennett says the men’s absence will impact the force but explains that measures are being taken to expand the special operations group. 

RADM Elton Bennett, BCG Commandant: “We are impacted to a certain extent as it relates to taking up the slack from what these guys were doing. This is our vanguard force, this is our special operators. So any high risk operations that Belize Coast Guard will be called upon to perform meaning counter narcotics these would be the guys that would be deployed on those operations. That requires the first fleet from the Belize Coast Guard to take up that slack and to be prepared to undertake these special operations in country.”

Reporter: So they will now be getting some special training ? 

RADM Elton Bennett, BCG Commandant: “So we have already had training to identify people who are capable or who would have the potential to form a part of hat team. So we have a small team currently undergoing special operations training in Ladyville to fill that gap and they will be training from now through June July then we increase the intensity of that training. We’ll have the US Special Forces team that will come in country some time in June/July when they will help us to elevate the level of training.”

The men will return to the country and await possible deployment to Haiti.