Antonette Wemyss Gorman (born ) is a Jamaican military officer serving as the chief of defence staff of the Jamaica Defence Force; she holds the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. She is the first female chief of staff in Jamaica, and was also the first female officer to serve at sea, and the first woman to reach the rank of commander in the JDF. Her seagoing appointment was the first appointment of a woman to a front line combat role in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Career

Prior to her military career, from 1990 Wemyss Gorman worked two years at Cable & Wireless. In 1992, at the age of 19, she enlisted into the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). She completed her initial officer training at the UK Britannia Royal Naval College. Between 1994 and 1997, she was navigating officer on the HMJS ''Paul Bogle''. She became the first woman officer to go to sea in the Jamaica Coast Guard. Her seagoing appointment was also the first appointment of a woman to a front line combat role in the

. She served fifteen years aboard ships in the Jamaica Coast Guard. In addition to command of ships, she was Operations Officer and Officer Commanding Shore Base, Second in Command of the JDF Air wing, and prior to her appointment as JDF chief of staff, she was Commanding Officer of the JDF Coast Guard. She was the first woman to reach the rank of commander in the JDF. She was responsible for the founding of the ''Caribbean Military Maritime Training Centre''. She was promoted to

when she was designated as chief of defence staff. In parallel to serving in the military, she also filled civilian roles. In 1998, as a secondment for two years, she was appointed Deputy Director for Marine Transport in the Ministry of Transport and Works. She also served on the Fisheries Advisory Board, and on the National COVID-19 Response Advisory Committee. She is an alumna of the US Naval War College, and received a master's in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

Personal

Wemyss Gorman was born in . She has a son and is married to Jonathan Wemyss Gorman. She enjoys gardening as a hobby. She was raised by her grandparents in Top Alston, Clarendon. She studied at Knox Preparatory School and Knox College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wemyss Gorman, Antonette Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births Place of birth missing (living people) Chiefs of Defence Staff (Jamaica) Jamaican military officers Female admirals University of the West Indies alumni Naval War College alumni 21st-century Jamaican people 21st-century Jamaican women