Castries, Saint Lucia, April 3, 2008 (NEMO) -- The Rainbow Radio League (RRL) of St Vincent and the Grenadines for the past few months has been planning a tri-island radio communications simulations exercise between St Vincent, Saint Lucia and Grenada.  The simulation dubbed “Operation X” will involve the eXchange of Emcoms (emergency communications) in a 2 day field exercise – scheduled to take place on April 5 and 6, 2008.  The National Emergency Operations Centre [EOC] at Bisée will be opened this weekend for the exercise.

Saint Lucian radio operators will visit emergency shelters on St. Vincent and Grenada (and vice versa) setting up and operating emergency radio equipment at several of these shelters and communicating wirelessly to the respective EOC’s.   This exercise will provide an excellent opportunity for radio operators from Saint Lucia to know  Vincentian terrain/shelters, providing them with knowledge and experience, so that if the islands are impacted severely, Saint Lucian communication responders can move in, set up and operate with minimum delays having known the terrain and safe routes to these shelters before hand.  The same holds true were Saint Lucia to be impacted and responders from St Vincent and Grenada were to render assistance.

Operation X has been staged on two previous occasions between Grenada and SVG with great success.  The exercise and exchange was conceptualised as the result of the chaotic situation and communications ‘black out’ following hurricane Ivan which devastated  Grenada.

For information, please contact:
National Emergency Management Organisation
P.O. Box 1517
Bisee, Castries
Saint Lucia
Tel: (758) 452-3802
Fax: (758) 453-2152
E-mail: slunemo@gmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/slunemo