The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Kenrick Maharaj, has praised the efforts of the regiment and the police in their operations in Beverly Hills, Laventille, to "restore peace and stability" to the area.Major General Maharaj said this yesterday to the audience at the Commander in Chief Parade and 52nd Anniversary of the T&T Defence Force ceremony at the Chaguaramas Heliport.
In the presence of President Anthony Carmona, the Minister of National Security Gary Griffith and some Laventille residents, he said: "The regiment continues to be the main effort in supporting the Police Service and law enforcement support operations, not independently, but as part of a joint inter-agency arrangement."Maharaj said these efforts "will be enhanced when the army acquires its armoured personnel carriers."
He noted the police and the regiment have had a "mutually respectful relationship for the past 52 years" and said their efforts in Laventille were "a very well conducted hearts-and-mind campaign" which "demonstrates how we can balance hard and soft power strategies, simultaneously engaged, in the same theatre of operations."
He stressed that the T&T Defense Force continues to "conduct operations across the full spectrum of engagement–from humanitarian missions to security operations during situations of violence."He thanked President Carmona "for approving the recent call-out of available part-time reserves to assist the regular serving members of the Force in undertaking its several missions, both in support of the police and in ceremonial duties."