Senior officers receive training in border security management

Civilians employed in government departments that have border security responsibilities should receive the same training as members of the military and other law enforcement agencies.
Chief of Defence Staff, Colonel Sir Trevor Thomas expressed that view on Friday during the closing ceremony of a “Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context” course which was held at the former U.S. Air Station.
The course was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Regional Security System (RSS) and the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, in association with the Defence Academy of the UK, and Cranfield University.
“In my 40 years of being in the force, one of the things I have learnt is that the civilian component of our ministries is way behind when it comes to understanding and appreciating what we do and what we are about,” Sir Trevor said.
He is hoping that going forward senior members of the various government ministries, such as Immigration and National Security, would be invited to participate in whatever training that is made available to the groups previously included in the country.
Twenty-nine senior officers from Antigua and other parts of the region participated in the two-week course that was held from June 4-15.
The areas covered include concepts of security (strategic context), small states and regional security, governance and rule of law, policy formulation and implementation, accountability and transparency, leadership and management and Human Resource Management.