On Monday, July 17, 48 students arrived at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies for the two-week resident phase of the Caribbean Defense and Security Course (CDSC). Participants from 14 countries in the Caribbean traveled to Washington, DC, to engage with regional partners and discuss the common security themes and challenges of their countries.

Led by Perry Center professor Dr. William Godnick and adjunct professors Major (ret.) George Benson, Mr. Walter Earle, and Dr. Dianne Williams, the course will cover transnational security threats such as organized crime, corruption, and cyber security; interagency and international cooperation; defense economics; and defense and security policy formulation and implementation. Students will also complete an exercise scenario in which they will be required to work together to address security and defense threats in a fictitious country.

Throughout the duration of the course, students will have the opportunity to hear from and question senior policymakers and practitioners during plenary lectures and panel presentations. CDSC guest speakers will include representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and a variety of non-governmental organizations. During their time in Washington, CSDC students will also visit the Organization of American States to learn about the world’s oldest regional international organization and tour various landmarks and historical sites in the DC area.