News
Bird Rock Point targeted for TCI Regiment Training and Border Security
By Deandrea Hamilton
Editor
#TurksandCaicos, July 25, 2022 – Bird Rock point is a protected heritage and nature sanctuary. It is also where a consortium of smugglers like to make landfall. It is remotely located. Sparsely populated. Has a tricky rocky shore. And waters are usually rough. It makes it an unpopular site for tourists and residents and therefore an enormously ideal spot for nefarious activity.
There were a few things going on when media was invited to be debriefed on a training exercise which began on July 10. We witness a simulation where a frantic brother brought his profusely bleeding sister to be treated at the field
hospital, which was set up and waiting. The woman, who convincingly played her role, was eventually escorted to the hospital for immediate medical care.
Members and new recruits of the TCI Regiment were learning how to handle an hysterical patient.
They were setting up barriers and perimeters and they were setting up camp; very inconspicuously in the coastal coppice cradling the Point.
Governor Nigel Dakin, fresh off summer holidays and marking another year in the territory this July was inspecting the operations and was impressed with the performance and grateful for the British military support.
Founding Commander of the Turks and Caicos Regiment, Ennis Grant confirmed there were over 50 men and women dispersed at the site in training mode.
“The exercise is going well, we have about 50 persons involved in the exercise, we have 18 new recruits and 24 marines who are currently involved. I think the troops are very enthused and they have been very enlightened.
We have a team from the Royal Dragoons, the British Military and the Commandoes who are assisting us have done an awesome job in putting this together,” said Ennis Grant, Lt Col TCI Regiment.
The training involved moving heavy debris, including vehicles using only brawn, no machines. It also involved endurance and sacrifice as modern amenities were absent as the marines and recruits spent the night in watch, crouched in bushes, watching and waiting. And synergy was vital; respect for authority and the chain of command, hospitality and diversity were among the observations made by this journalist was we were given carte blanche inspection as well.
Nigel Dakin also said, he is confident that the humanitarian training offered by the British has aided the level of readiness of the local regiment, in the event of a hurricane.
“What I’ve noticed, and it doesn’t matter whether I look at the private sector or the government sector, every year we incrementally get better and I think building the Regiment as we are, every year just makes us a step better.”
Now, having experienced four hurricane seasons in the Turks and Caicos, the Governor explained, “Nothing withstands that first blast that we get but what we are building up now is the ability to respond ever quicker to the events as they unfold.”
The British contingent of sixteen members was welcomed by the (Acting) Governor, H.E. Anya Williams along with members of the National Security Secretariat ahead of training which stared on July 10. Hon Washington Misick, TCI Premier has paid a courtesy call and was pictured with the officers on July 15 at the Louise Garland Thomas High school in Long Bay, where most exercises were held.
The TCI Regiment members are now in possession of their own government issued firearms – Glock pistols – and the training experiences included: crowd management; diversity and inclusion; marking helicopter landing sites; weapons handling; battlefield casualty medical and hazard management.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, April 19, 2024 – In an attempt to move to 24-hour-a-day operations Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is steadily recruiting Air Traffic Controllers to work at the Providenciales/Howard Hamilton International Airport, according to Godfrey Smith, TCIAA CEO, reporting to the Appropriations Committee.
Speaking on April 8th Smith said a cabinet paper would be sent soon requesting six more Air Traffic Controllers to make round the clock operation at the Provo International possible and to open the airport in Grand Turk till 12 a.m.
Currently, 17 posts are filled and seven are vacant.
Smith was candid with his responses to recent industrial action from ATCs which led to resignations and firings.
“What we have to do is find systems to mitigate such actions and that has to start with filling these jobs, putting people in that want to
work and doing right by people – and we always try to do right by our staff. Persons may not think that we are but we always do – we ain’t pick no fight,” he said in the meetings held at the NJS Francis building ahead of the National Budget Communication.
Smith indicated that recruitment was an issue across the board, ‘we need to find ways to recruit a little bit better’ he told the committee. Also in need of a push was capital spending or projects according to the CEO, who said the agency had ‘not been very good’ at meeting that mark but insisted they had recognized the issue and could do better.
A very important key performance indicator drawn up by the TCIAA is increasing passenger satisfaction at the Howard Hamilton International Airport. For the TCIAA part of this means a 30 percent increase in seating by Q2 of this year.
When queried on if they could even handle this increase the CEO said,
“The fact of the matter is we already have the capacity there. What we need is to make the service a bit better.”
Staff shortages have become such a frustrating issue that the TCIAA is instituting a scholarship program created by Authority Chairman, Selvyn Hawkins
“What the board wants to do is basically allocate $25,000 annually for a scholarship and they’ve approved it already.”
This process would cover tuition and all other costs for one student.
The student would return as a summer intern and other breaks to work at the TCIAA and upon graduation, assume a role at the company.
“We identify a particular skill we need, we go after it and we build capacity that is in a nutshell the nexus of the program,” Smith said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is allocated $49 million this financial year; over $20 million goes to salaries.
Company delivers fastest speeds nationwide and boosts service reliability
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS, APRIL 19th, 2024 – More connections, faster speeds and greater support for customers. This is the promise from communications and entertainment provider, Flow TCI, as it embarks on an initiative to provide households with enhanced connections, greater overall reliability and now, for the first time, speeds up to one gigabit person second.
FLOW TCI Country Manager, Joanne Missick shared: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We listen to our customers and want to exceed their demands, so we are focused on delivering unmatched value with customer centric products and services that are future proof. Flow subscribers on our Fibre Extreme package can now access up to one gigabyte speeds and subscribers on our Fibre Plus and Fibre Max package, as of April 1st, are also now benefitting from up to 5x more speeds.”
This is third speed boost for Flow customers in the last two years. This comes under the umbrella of the the Company’s recently launched “Working for You” campaign, where technicians are going into the neighborhoods across the island to conduct repairs, decommission copper cables, and increase the brand’s visibility in local communities.
“To date several neighborhoods have been served by technicians and the company will continue to go across the islands to ensure each neighborhood receives personal attention. We recognize that over the past few months some customers have experienced issues with the quality and delivery of our services. This is not what we stand for. Flow remains committed to providing technology and innovation
that enables growth and positively impacts lives”, says, newly appointed Head of Technical Operations, Simeon Thomas.
Thomas adds, “We have been closely monitoring and reviewing every aspect of our network and there is room for improvement across each of the islands. Where we find shortcomings, we are taking concrete actions and assigning our technicians to rapidly make all necessary adjustments and improvements for our customers”.
Flow has made significant investments in expanding and modernizing its infrastructure and delivering a more robust and reliable network paving the way for the country’s digital transformation.
For more information on speed increases visit https://www2.discoverflow.co/turks-and-caicos/price-adjustment-speed-increase on our website.
Thank you for your usual assistance in sharing our stories.
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