MULTI-AGENCY TEAM BEGIN EXPLOSIVES DISPOSAL EXERCISE AND TRAINING IN SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
Basseterre, Saint Kitts, September 24, 2026 (SKNIS): Personnel from several agencies responsible for maintaining homeland security in Saint Kitts and Nevis are participating in a three-day explosives disposal exercise and training.
Expired munitions and ordnance are being safely detonated at the disposal exercise and training, which is being held at the Shooting Range at Bakers Point. Unauthorised individuals are asked to stay away from the exclusion zone during the September 23 to 25, 2026, training period being attendedby members of the St. Kitts Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) Infantry and Coast Guard Unit, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF), and the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services (SKNFRS). The exercise is supported by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS).
At the training opening on Wednesday (September 23), Attorney General and Acting Minister of National Security, the Honourable Garth Wilkin, noted that ammunition does not keep forever, and as a responsible government, all relevant measures must be taken to protect life and property.
“Every round of ammunition that sits in a store, beyond its useful life, is a liability. It is a liability to the soldiers who must guard it, to the communities that live near it, and, if it ever leaves that store by the wrong door, to every citizen and resident of the Federation,” he stated. “Today, we begin to remove that liability.”
The safe ammunition destruction operations are guided under a Framework Agreement for Weapons and Munitions Management, executed on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, between the SKNDF and MAG Caribbean. It is governed by the laws of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and all work carried out will be in accordance with International Ammunition Technical Guidelines and International Mine Action Standards and the Modular Small Arms Control Implementation Compendium.
The project will be done in three phases. First is the destruction of obsolete ammunition. This will be followed by the training and mentoring of personnel at Camp Springfield, while the third phase is the provision of the equipment and material to carry out the munitions and ordnance disposal safely. It is expected to run up to December 2026, in the first instance.
Attorney General Wilkin said, “This is not an exercise in having others do our work for us. The purpose is to build our own national capabilities so that men and women of the defence force, and in time the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, are equipped to manage weapons and ammunition safely and accountably for the long term.”
He added that “the framework agreement is deliberately designed as a platform. It allows us to agree further statements of work as needs arise. And the next priority for this government is to bring our armoury and ammunition storage arrangements fully in line with international standards.”
Appreciation was expressed to CARICOM IMPACS for its continued leadership in regional security operations, and to the United States Department of State, which provided funding for the project.
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