PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Tuesday and Wednesday, soldiers from the 32 Dutch Royal Marines left Aruba for St. Maarten. At the request of the country, the military will support the local emergency services in the coming days before, during and after the passage of tropical storm Isaac.
Together with the Marine Detachment of Sint Maarten, a total of 73 soldiers from the Commander of the Navy in the Caribbean (CZMCARIB) are ready to support local emergency services in the preservation or restoration of public order and safety. This manifests itself, among other things, by doing combined patrols together and under the leadership of the Police Corps Sint Maarten. The role of the military in this is to ensure security.
The station ship Zr.Ms. Friesland is currently in Curacao and is prepared to bring emergency aid packages.
Whether CZMCARIB will also offer emergency aid to other non-Kingdom islands, for example Dominica, is not possible at the moment. If an independent country makes a request for emergency aid, it is up to The Hague to determine whether or not Defense is deployed for this purpose.
Providing emergency relief after the passage of a hurricane is one of the main tasks of the CZMCARIB units in the Caribbean. The assistance requested will consist of supporting the local emergency services with personnel and equipment in carrying out their duties, in order to get public life back on track as soon as possible after passage.
