WHEN UNITED States special forces soldier Brendan Souder visited Trinidad and Tobago nine years ago as part of a joint training exercise with local authorities, he fell in love with the hospitality, beauty, and food he experienced and promised to return to make more memories with his new-found friends.
Today Souder, who is retired from the military, aims to capture the essence of Trinidad on film as part of his documentary series while arranging his first competitive shooting tournament on the island.
Souder, the owner of the Range Project Group International (RPGi), a Florida-based firearms training company has partnered with the local firearm training company MH Tactical Training Resort in Chaguaramas to host the Train, Evolve, Compete. A five-stage shooting competition took place on Saturday.
Speaking with Sunday Newsday during a break in a training session at the MH Tactical Training Resort on Thursday, Souder, 39, said he was happy to be in TT training alongside his friends.
Born in rural Virginia, Souder said his sense of adventure motivated him to leave his small town and join the military, enlisting in the army when he was only 18 shortly before the 9/11 terror attacks.
He said that his parents did not approve of his career choice at first, preferring he stayed at home and join the family business building houses.
He said they did not even know that he joined the military until he called relatives one day after the terror attacks.
"I was in basic training in Fort Bennings, Georgia when everything was getting locked down we were told to call our families the next day.
"I called my parents and their first question was 'What are you doing in Georgia?' so I told them I joined the army and immediately they freaked out."
During his time in the military Souder was recruited by several elite units including the US Army Rangers and the Special Forces, tasked with carrying out high risk missions.
[caption id="attachment_935825" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Train, Evolve and Compete shooting tournament match director Brendon Souder gives a female shooter some aid during training at the MH Tactical Shooting Range in Chaguaramas on Thursday. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Not long after Souder was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries in the middle-east before being transferred to Central and South America.
In 2013, Souder came to Trinidad as part of a joint training programme with local police and members of the defence force when he said he was captivated by the charisma of Trinidadians.
Recalling the warmth and friendly nature of his local counterparts, Souder said he enjoyed his time on the island and promised it would not be his last visit.
"They were interested in what we were interested in, they wanted to eat food with us, exchange cultural ideas and the local slang and food, right from the go we made some really good friends.
"I think I came back almost every year since then. I usually come back for a week or a month as part of a training programme they wanted and they
