US Funds More RSS Training

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Regional

Tuesday, 01 May 2012 02:29

By caribarena news

Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy Christopher Sandrolini and Regional Security Co-ordinator Grantley Watson on Monday signed an amended letter of agreement between the United States and the Regional Security System (RSS) providing the Eastern Caribbean with U$286,000 in new funding for the RSS training and vetting missions. 

The US committed US$186,000 to support the RSS training mission to upgrade the skills and capabilities of law enforcement and defense personnel of RSS member nations.  This new funding is part of the United States' on-going commitment to support the RSS training mission.

The United States also provided US$100,000 for a new initiative to assist the RSS regional vetting programme, which promotes the integrity of member nation law enforcement and defense personnel to promote the free flow of information among member states in combating transnational crime. 

To date, the United States has provided more than US$100,000 in funding for contract polygraph examiners to vet member nation law enforcement and defense personnel with access to sensitive and classified information.

In this new initiative, the United States will provide full funding for up to four members of the RSS staff to become trained to internationally-accepted standards as polygraph examiners. One of the four staff members will be able to undertake advanced training to achieve certification as a master trainer of polygraph examiners.

With this additional US$286,000, the United States has committed well over US$23 million in support of the RSS since 1999.

This new funding was made possible by President Obama's Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), which has provided more than U$143 million to the Caribbean since 2009. 

CBSI is a partnership between the United States and the countries of the Caribbean under which they have agreed to share the responsibility for implementing a common vision for a safer, more prosperous Caribbean region. Under CBSI, the United States and its Caribbean partners have pledged to seek durable security solutions through sustainable programs over which our regional partners take eventual ownership.

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