Sixteen Junior Coast Guard recruits from the 2025 Crew Member Program have completed more than a year of training, with an Aruban woman recognized as the class’s best graduate.
Graduates represent the Dutch Caribbean
The graduating class includes recruits from Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, as well as participants from Saba and Sint Eustatius. The class included the first person from Sint Eustatius to complete the program; that graduate is also a woman.
The recruits will be promoted to the rank of able seaman within the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and will begin operational service protecting communities along the coast and at sea.
Program combined maritime and law-enforcement training
Training covered maritime work, boarding procedures, first aid, firearms, physical and mental development, criminal law, criminal procedure, report writing, arrest procedures and self-defence.
The recruits also completed practical training and internships on several islands and aboard Coast Guard cutters. The law-enforcement component was delivered with the Opleidingsinstituut Rechtshandhaving & Veiligheidszorg, and graduates receive a jointly recognized diploma.
Source: AWE24.
