KRALENDIJK – Last Friday, the 31st of January, the diploma presentation ceremony for the class of students of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee took place on Bonaire. The students were trained as General Investigating Officers for the Caribbean Netherlands. The diploma ceremony marked the celebratory conclusion of an intensive training program.

During a festive ceremony, a total of 13 students received their diplomas from Colonel Willemijn Arends, Commanding Officer of the Training, Education, and Knowledge Centre of the Kmar. 

Among those present were Commanding Officer LTC Brigadier General Jos Pieters, the head of Basic Police Care of the Caribbean Netherlands Police Corps, Edwin van de Giessen, the Director of Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland, Tim Muller and the Brigade Commander of the Caribbean Region Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard Smit.

The students completed an intensive training period of around 9 months, with the first three months spent in the Netherlands and the last six months on Bonaire. This was the first time the training program was delivered partly in the Netherlands and partly in the Caribbean.

Deployment

From now on, they will be deployed within the KMar Caribbean Brigade as officers for border policing tasks on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. According to Kmar, the arrival of the new colleagues is a very welcome addition to the current workforce in the Caribbean Netherlands.