Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Tellis Bethel (seated centre) and Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Security Eugene Poitier (seated, third left) are pictured on June 7, 2018, with national and international stakeholders in the upcoming Tradewinds 2018 exercise, during the press conference at the RBDF Base HMBS Coral Harbour, announcing its hosting in The Bahamas.

According to the RBDF, Tradewinds 2018 is an annual regional military training exercise that will be held in The Bahamas June 14 -21 and this year's exercise will focus on Countering Transnational Organized crime in the region.

The Bahamas last hosted the event in 2009.

The main objective of the highly regarded military event is to foster training for security forces that is "tailored for the region by the region", and the annual exercise is sponsored by the United States Southern Command.

Also, according to the RBDF, 22 partner nations from the Caribbean region, the wider Americas and Western Europe representing a total of over 800 troops are expected to participate in the exercise. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)