Senior White House official Marilyn Quagliotti, Deputy Director of Supply Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy gives remarks during the TIC awards ceremony.
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Nassau, Bahamas - On
Thursday, November 13, 2014, the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator (USIC)
and The Interdiction Committee (TIC) traveled to New Providence to
present the 2013 USIC Award
in the Joint Operations category to Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos
(OPBAT). OPBAT is the first-ever recipient of the prestigious award in
this category. The annual USIC awards recognize significant
contributions to the continuing effort to counter the
increasing international and asymmetric threat posed by the trafficking
of narcotics and other illicit substances. Senior White House official
Marilyn Quagliotti, Deputy Director of Supply Reduction in the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, presented
the award noting “the sustained dedication, motivation and superior
performance of OPBAT personnel have directly contributed to disrupting
the conveyance of illicit narcotics and denying a significant percentage
of the critical stream of revenue used to support
transitional criminal organizations, insurgencies and terrorism.”
Award
recipients from each OPBAT partner agency received a framed citation,
and included: Jesse Wozniak, Deputy Director, Southeast Region, U.S.
Customs and Border
Protection (CBP); Commander (CDR) Scott Phy, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
Air Station Clearwater Operations Officer; CDR Mark Driver, USCG OPBAT
Director; Larry Covington, Law Enforcement Advisor for Caribbean
Overseas Territories & Bermuda, including Turks and
Caicos; Commodore Roderick Bowe, Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF)
Commander; Adolphus Wright, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA);
Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Royal Bahamas Police Force and
Ambassador William Brownfield, Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Department of State.
In
addition, agency representatives involved in the day-to-day operations
of OPBAT were presented commemorative coin awards, and included: Kevin
Brady, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection; Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Matt Furlong, USCG
Air Station Clearwater; Jason Szczurowski, USCG OPBAT; Pascal Bacchus,
Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force; Sr. Lt. Ricardo Berry, RBDF,
Danny Escobar, DEA Nassau Country Attaché; Chief
Superintendent Samuel Butler, RBPF and Kristin Gilmore, INL, U.S.
Embassy Nassau.
OPBAT Director Mark Driver receives award.
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Following
the award ceremony, members of TIC met for a roundtable discussion with
senior Bahamian and Turks and Caicos government and law enforcement
officials about
drug trafficking trends and interdiction efforts in the Caribbean.
The
Interdiction Committee supports the U.S. President's National Drug
Control Strategy. It develops, in coordination with the U.S.
Interdiction Coordinator, interagency recommendations
for integrating detection, monitoring, and law enforcement with
interdiction efforts to more effectively disrupt illicit drug
trafficking organizations.
Among
the U.S. senior officials on hand for the discussion were Admiral Paul
Zukunft, TIC Chairman and Coast Guard Commandant, Deputy Director
Marilyn Quagliotti, Office
of National Drug Control Policy, Ambassador William Brownfield,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Lisa Johnson.
Senior-level representatives from the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
included
Minister of National Security, The Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage, Minister
of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Attorney
General and Minister of Legal Affairs, The Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson,
Commodore Roderick Bowe, Royal Bahamas Defence
Force and Commissioner Ellison Greenslade of the Royal Bahamas Police
Force.
From left front row: Senator Keith Bell, Minister of State for National Security; U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Lisa Johnson; Senior White House official Marilyn Quagliotti, Deputy Director of Supply Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy; The Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage, Minister of National Security; Admiral Paul Zukunft, TIC Chairman and Coast Guard Commandant; Sen. The Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. They are flanked by senior U.S., Bahamian and Turks and Caicos officials who participated in the TIC roundtable discussion.
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Agency representatives involved in the day-to-day operations of OPBAT are presented commemorative coin awards. Senior White House official Marilyn Quagliotti, Deputy Director of Supply Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy made the formal presentation.
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Award recipients from each OPBAT partner agency receive a framed citation. Senior White House official Marilyn Quagliotti, Deputy Director of Supply Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy made the formal presentation.
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