WILLEMSTAD - Last Friday, the aspirants of the new Basic Coast Guard Training (BOK) 2023 marched into the Parera Naval Base after four intensive introductory weeks. The 21 aspirants from Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten all share one goal: a promising career in the Coast Guard.
During the introductory weeks, the young recruits underwent four weeks of classroom lessons under the guidance of their instructors and experienced various orientation camps. Throughout the camps, the aspirants marched for kilometers, swam extensively, prepared their own meals, constructed rafts, and completed amphibious exercises. Their final exercise for the introductory weeks commenced last Thursday evening. For the culminating exercise, the aspirants marched and paddled at sea, ultimately reaching the Parera Naval Base on Friday morning. At the base entrance, they were warmly welcomed with applause by Coast Guard personnel and fellow colleagues.
During the welcoming ceremony, the Coast Guard Director, Walter Hansen, delivered a speech to the aspirants and their instructors. "You started as 21 individuals on August 14th. 10 candidates from Aruba, 6 from Curaçao, and 5 from St. Maarten. Now, 4 weeks later, I see 1 group! Being a Coast Guard is a beautiful, important, and honorable profession. You are two things in one: a police officer and a sailor. Now, the rest of the training begins. This is just the end of the first phase. Everything you are learning and practicing now can be applied in your future work. You have the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. You can only succeed if you do it together. Together Strong! Congratulations!"
Following the director's speech, the aspirants received their official BOK caps as a token of appreciation for their performance during the introductory weeks.
This week, the aspirants will commence the basic skills module, which includes first aid and marksmanship and lasts for 8 weeks. The Coast Guard wishes the trainee coast guardsmen great success in their upcoming training.