WILLEMSTAD - Last Friday, the aspirants of the new Coast Guard Basic Training (BOK) 2022 marched into Naval Base Parera after four intensive weeks of introduction. The 18 aspirants from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten all have one goal, a great career with the Coast Guard.
During the introduction weeks, the young people followed classroom lessons for four weeks under the guidance of their instructors and experienced various introductory bivouacs. During the bivouacs, the aspirants marched for miles, swam, cooked, built rafts as well as completed amphibious exercises. Their final exercise for the introduction weeks started last Thursday evening. For the final exercise, the aspirants marched and paddled at sea with the final destination at Naval Base Parera on Friday morning. At the Naval Base Parera, the aspirants were received with loud applause at the entrance by coastguards and other colleagues.
During the entry ceremony, Coast Guard Director Frank Boots gave a speech to the aspirants and their instructors. “All 18 of you made it to the finish line, performing together as one team for four weeks so you can all be here with your instructors. I am sure you have all learned a lot from each other. Today you made it to the final march. All night together, pain, no sleep and the fatigue you all have been able to experience. This is the beginning of the training and you have gone through the first difficult phase together and are here with all 18 men. Continue to work together for the rest of the year, motivating each other and helping each other throughout the training. I wish you every success with the rest of the Coast Guard Basic Training”. After the director's speech, the aspirants received their official BOK cap as a token of appreciation for their achievements during the introduction weeks.
This week the aspirants start with the basic skills module, including first aid and shooting skills, which will last 8 weeks. The Coast Guard wishes the Coast Guard aspirants every success.