Soldiers of the Royal Bermuda Regiment are set to fly to South America next month as they join representatives from 24 other countries for field training exercises.

A RBR spokesman said that around 100 members of the service will take part in Exercise Tradewinds 23 in Guyana, where they will be put through their paces in a programme designed by US Southern Command, a combatant command within the US Department of Defence.

The deployment of RBR troops will also include members of the Turks & Caicos Islands Regiment, the Jamaica Defence Force and the Surinam National Army.

Major Duncan Simons, the officer in charge of the RBR’s Exercise Tradewinds 23 contingent, said: “The reason for this exercise is to facilitate interoperability between the countries, to build goodwill and to facilitate common standards of training.”

Royal Bermuda Regiment troops prepared for the trip last weekend at Warwick Camp, where they took part in fitness assessments and team-building activities, and carried out kit checks and other administrative tasks.

Private Tiante Swan, who last year took part in overseas training at the US Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, said: “The regiment exposes you to different things that you might think you wouldn’t be able to do in Bermuda.

“A lot of people join because they want to fire weapons, but sometimes you get to go to another country.

“In Guyana, we’ll be working with 24 other countries — it exposes you to a whole range of different people and lifestyles. It makes you think about life a little bit differently.”

Soldiers took part in a team-building exercise called Jigsaw on Saturday, when they were given a number of objectives to achieve, each one earning them a puzzle piece, within a set time.

Activities included navigating between two points while blindfolded and climbing over a wall on the camp’s assault course.

Private Kayla Raymond said the exercise promoted good teamwork and how to effectively use different senses, and that she looked forward to taking part in training in Guyana.

She added: “I’m probably most looking forward to meeting different people from other countries and learning how they work in their armies.”

• Residents aged 18 to 52 are invited to enlist in the Royal Bermuda Regiment before the end of this week, to take part in a Recruit Camp from July 9 to 21. For more information or to join, visitbermudaregiment.bmor call 238-1045