AFM COMMANDER AND U.S. AMBASSADOR AWARD CERTIFICATES

Brigadier Carmel Vassallo and U.S. Ambassador Douglas Kmiec with participants from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Advanced Boarding Officer Maritime Law Enforcement training program.	Ambassador Kmiec congratulates a participant in the AFM’s Search and Rescue Planning course

On Friday, September 18, Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), and U.S. Ambassador Douglas Kmiec presented graduation certificates to 24 students from the AFM’s Search and Rescue Training Center during a ceremony at the Maritime Squadron Headquarters.

One group of students, which included international participants from Cyprus and Nigeria, completed the AFM’s Search and Rescue Planning course, while a second group consisting of AFM personnel completed the U.S. Coast Guard’s Advanced Boarding Officer Maritime Law Enforcement (MLE) training program. 

During the graduation ceremony, Ambassador Kmiec recognized the successful partnership between Malta and the U.S. and praised the AFM’s leadership role in organizing maritime training programs for the entire Mediterranean region, noting that “the graduates of the courses will be at the forefront of maritime counter-terrorism efforts, will help prevent illegal immigration and the trafficking in persons, and will be the first responders to provide humanitarian assistance at sea.”

The completion of the Advanced Maritime Law Enforcement (MLE) Course marked the second stage of a year-long program to train AFM officials in U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement procedures.  Trainers from the U.S. Coast Guard are working with the AFM to develop a Malta-specific maritime law enforcement curriculum, which will allow the AFM to offer a certified, customized training program for maritime students from the AFM and other law enforcement agencies by the summer of 2010.

In the coming year, the AFM will expand its Maritime Safety and Security course offerings to additional international students, further increasing the reputation and prestige of the training center.  Neighboring countries in the Mediterranean basin and beyond will be invited to participate in Search and Rescue Planning, Counter Narcotics, Maritime Operations and On-Scene Commander courses.  

In thanking the U.S. Embassy for its continued support, Brigadier Vassallo remarked that the partnership that had been developing between the armed forces of the United States and Malta was an example of how strong bilateral relations could be built between two countries despite the huge differences in their geographical, economic and military characteristics.  He emphasized that “mutual respect is the underlying pillar sustaining such a successful partnership.”

Malta’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Training Center, operated by the Armed Forces of Malta, trains Naval and civilian maritime students from neighboring countries in the Mediterranean and North Africa and has become an internationally renowned center of excellence for search and rescue training.  The U.S. provides on-going financial and administrative assistance for SAR courses and recently provided $160,000 in new equipment to help the AFM modernize its SAR capabilities with state of the art U.S. Coast Guard-developed software.