The third group of international officers has just successfully completed a course followed at the Armed Forces of Malta’s Search and Rescue Training Centre (SAR-TC.
AFM commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo recently officiated over the graduation ceremony of the 12 foreigners that completed the intensive Search Mission Coordinator (SMC) and Counter Narcotics (CN) course.
The students, who are from Nigeria, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Croatia and Saudi Arabia, were given a solid foundation of the drug threat, smuggling trends, international law regarding drugs and use of force in preventing drug smuggling.
The SAR-TC course was possible by means of close cooperation between the AFM and the American Embassy.
The AFM course instructors all received training at the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) National SAR School in Yorktown, Virginia, and training at the SAR-TC, which is based at Safi Barracks, is modelled on the methodology used by the USCG.
Although the SAR-TC is an AFM facility, the USCG contributes to its instructor staff, both permanently and temporarily. Commander Brian Lisko from the USCG, assigned to the American Embassy, is one of the staff members at the SAR-TC and has been regularly giving SAR classes to international students.
The graduation ceremony at Luqa Barracks was attended by Tunisian Ambassador to Malta, Mohamed Ali Ganzoui and American Ambassador, Molly Bordonaro, who delivered brief remarks highlighting the cooperation between Malta and the United States with regard to the SAR-TC.
Ambassador Bordonaro said, “The United States fully supports Malta’s SAR-TC because it addresses two vitally important global challenges – search and rescue and counter narcotics.
“Although the world is divided up into many SAR regions, not all countries have received SAR training that conforms to International Maritime Organisation and International Civil Aviation Organisation SAR standards. The SAR training you received here in Malta does.
“The counter narcotics training you received at the SAR-TC should serve you, your family and your country well by giving you some tools to help curb the spread of illegal drugs that tear at the very fabrics of our respective societies. Your graduation today helps make the Mediterranean, West Africa and the Red Sea safer and more secure areas.” Apart from AFM and USCG instructors, the Malta College of Arts and Science Technology (MCAST) provided an instructor, retired AFM Warrant Officer Stephen Farrugia from the Maritime Institute, who provided training on the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).
Police also contributed to the course by getting a member of the Drug Squad to talk to the students about the drug threat in Malta.