The first day of the two-day event dubbed “Exercise Stronghold’ by the nation’s security forces, has been described as ‘successful’ as the exercise concluded with a briefing at the National Performing Arts Centre on High Street on Wednesday morning.
Exercise Stronghold Day One
The operation comes as a precursor to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in November.
The exercise which was led by the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force and other security agencies, involved a ‘soft lockdown’ of the security perimeter dubbed ‘the Red Zone’.
A press release issued by personnel from the CHOGM Media and Public Affairs Committee outlined that the area that borders Corn Alley on the West, Parliament Drive on the East, New Street on the South and Upper Newgate Street to Old Parham Road on the north were included in the security zone. Vehicular traffic in that area was restricted and pedestrian movement prohibited on Upper High Street.
The security team held a briefing with members of the National CHOGM Task Force and other stakeholders at the top of High Street and explained to those in attendance the significance of the exercise.
Brigadier Telbert Benjamin of the ABDF underscored the value of the exercise noting that this was a time when those involved must be able to provide answers to questions when asked.
“What we are going to do today is that we are going to walk this through and we are going to try to address issues relative to everybody. I am going to use a phrase popularized by High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill; the days for ‘I don’t know’, ‘I am not sure’; those things are gone. We are at the stage in preparation where we either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You either say ‘yes’ to the things that you ought to know or ‘no’ if you don’t. This is not an opportunity for guessing; there is no such thing. Secondly, and most importantly, this is an opportunity for us to learn what everyone else is doing and how what we do fits into the overall plan,” he stated.
According to the ABDF Chief, Antigua and Barbuda and the security force are doing an event that is extremely dynamic. “It is beyond anything we have done before, but we have passed the stage when we can say ‘we can’t do it’; we are at the stage where we have to do it,” he declared.
Commissioner of Police Everton Jeffers emphasized the importance of key stakeholders attending all such events or exercises to which they were invited.
“We have to operate today as how we would operate on Friday (Day 2) or on the actual day of the event. This means if you are supposed to be here, I expect that you would be here because if you are here you would know what will happen on the day of the event and would not need to be asking, what’s next?” he remarked.
The release added that during the exercise, security personnel indicated that many of the areas and buildings surrounding the main venue site will be secured for the ceremony and they urged everyone to be punctual.
The final leg of the exercise was a briefing in the new National Performing Arts Centre where the security personnel gave an overview of what is expected to take place on the day of the event.
Wednesday’sexercise ended at approximately 10:00 a.m., a full two hours ahead of schedule. The barriers were removed and normal traffic and activities resumed.
