An agreement in which the United States would assist Bermuda directly in the event of a security threat is “unique”, according to the US Consul-General.

And talks about how the US would be able to help could include tabletop scenario exercises, Karen Grissette told The Royal Gazette.

She said the agreement between the US, Bermuda and Britain provided a framework for co-operation in the event of a security threat or serious risk to public health or safety in Bermuda.

Ms Grissette said: “In short, if a rapid response was requested of the United States, and if Bermuda wanted that, the UK – in consultation with Bermuda – would be able to request immediate assistance from the United States.”

She added that the form of help would be dependent on the threat that arose.

Ms Grissette said: “These kinds of arrangements require regular consultation, exercises – whether that’s tabletop exercises or actual live exercises – so that all the parties can work through questions that come up and talk about different scenarios, because it would depend what type of emergency we are talking about.

“That’s where exercise planners, which we have a lot of in the United States, can think about and posit different scenarios and then give everybody a chance to work through and look at the MOU and see, does this make sense? Is everybody prepared to use such an MOU?”

Ms Grissette said: “We have signed the MOU and we are talking about a tabletop exercise.

“It hasn’t been officially planned … all sides are interested in exercising this MOU with a table top, so that would mean we don’t actually bring troops in per se but we would have exercise planners and responsible parties to talk about what if ‘X’ happened, how would we respond, and what would be the roles and what would be the issues that might come up.”

Ms Grissette said potential risks or threats were not defined in the agreement and “historical events have taught us that it’s difficult to know what the next crisis will be”.

She added: “Covid, I think, taught us that it’s hard to know what to plan for but we do our best in exercises and in crisis planning.”

Ms Grissette explained: “This is unique and part of the reason that it’s unique is the US proximity to Bermuda.

“The UK has the capability to provide the same response, without question, but the United States is just geographically much closer.

“If there was something that required a very fast response, and the 500 miles between us meant that the UK wanted that response and Bermuda wanted that response, we could activate it.

“I think for anything more complex, certainly the UK would be able to respond and has similar capabilities to be able to respond."

The Royal Gazette asked if Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been condemned “in the strongest possible terms” by Nato, was expected to lead to US military presence in Bermuda.

Ms Grissette said: “America’s goal, with regards to that situation, is straightforward: we want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.

“As the Ukrainian president has said, ultimately the war will only definitively end through diplomacy, so the United States has moved to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition, so that it can both fight on the battlefield and also be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

“As long as the United States and our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict. We don’t seek a war between Nato and Russia by any means – not by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine, so we’re not seeking to be directly engaged in this conflict.”

The US Consul-General marked her first anniversary in the post this month.

She said: “I certainly was very excited to learn that I would be coming to Bermuda.

“I still remember flying in. What a beautiful sight that I saw beneath me. That has been matched by the people of Bermuda, for sure, who have been kind and welcoming both to me and to my family.”

Ms Grissette explained that the mission of the US consulate was to protect US citizens and help them in response to emergencies, as well as to “deepen the strong economic and cultural ties” between two countries.

She added that the consulate’s involvement in Bermuda covered several sectors including law enforcement, border security, environmental sustainability and climate change as well as education.

Ms Grissette said that a highlight so far was her focus on security partnerships, which also included visits and fisheries enforcement work by US Coast Guard ships.

She said that talks were taking place about next steps on work to patrol common mid-Atlantic waters outside exclusive economic zones.

“The intelligence sharing and the interoperability of working together … is absolutely beneficial to both the United States, to Bermuda and to the UK,” she said.

“I’m eager to support it if there’s a desire on all sides for it to continue.”

Ms Grissette added that another high point was her public engagement work, which included building on ”well-established relationships“ between the consulate and the Bermuda Government as well as non-governmental organisations and people involved in education.

She also highlighted “close collaboration” with the international business community.

“We work with the trade organisations as well as individual companies on any of their concerns or priorities and also we’ve been very happy to celebrate their internships and scholarships for Bermudian students particularly who have chosen to study in the United States,” she said.

Ms Grissette said: “The fact that Bermudians can travel to the United States without a visa is rare in the world and is a huge benefit to Bermudians.

“That’s a wonderful benefit that means that young people know about the United States, know about the cultural opportunities there and already many people have ties and family in the United States, many young Bermudians go to boarding school in the US and also choose the United States for higher education.”