The Barbados Regiment is the land force component of the

Barbados Defence Force The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the ...

. Its main tasks are the defence of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

from external threats, internal security and assisting the local police in maintaining law and order. The regiment also provides Barbados' contribution to international

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

and other missions. In its present form, the regiment was formed in 1979 along with the BDF, replacing the old Barbados Regiment. The Barbados Regiment is affiliated to the

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

History

The Barbados Regiment was founded in 1902 as the Barbados Volunteer Force (BVF), a volunteer unit raised to provide for the local defense of the island following the withdrawal of the British garrison. Soldiers of the BVF were involved in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

World Wars as part of both the South Caribbean Force and the

Caribbean Regiment The Caribbean Regiment (fully the ''First Caribbean Regiment'' or ''1st Caribbean Regiment'', and sometimes referred to as the ''Carib Regiment'') was a regiment of the British Army during the Second World War. The regiment went overseas in July 1 ...

. In 1948, the BVF was re-established and renamed the Barbados Regiment. The regiment received its first stand of

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

in 1953. These colours were later changed after the country gained Independence. Between 1959 and 1962, Barbados was part of the

Federation of the West Indies A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing ...

, and thus contributed to the 3rd Battalion,

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

. On the break-up of the Federation, Barbados regained its independence and saw the Barbados Regiment returned to service. Although the regiment's primary role is to defend Barbados, it also provides the country's commitment to UN

forces, predominantly 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 ...

region. The regiment also participated, along with the

Jamaica Regiment The Jamaica Regiment is the main formation of land troops in the Jamaica Defence Force. It is a non-mechanised infantry regiment consisting of five battalions, three regular infantry battalions, one territorial infantry battalion, and a Combat S ...

and the Rifle Company, Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, in the United States-led

invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

in 1983.

Current organization

The Barbados Regiment is stationed as part of the BDF headquarters at The Garrison. The regiment today is divided into regular and reserve forces, essentially making up two 'battalions', though they are not described as such:

Regular

The regular force consists of three

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

: *Headquarters Company: This provides the logistic and administrative support for the entire regiment. *Technical Support Company: This provides the engineering and mechanical support. *Special Operations Company: This is the main fighting unit. Its primary task is to provide a quick reaction force, but it also works closely with both the

Royal Barbados Police Force The Barbados Police Service (BPS), previously called the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), is the law enforcement agency in Barbados, as established under the Police Act, Cap. 167. Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police. The BP ...

, and the Maritime arm, The

Barbados Coast Guard The Barbados Coast Guard is the maritime element of the Barbados Defence Force. Its responsibilities include territorial defence, patrolling Barbados' territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as conducting maritime law enforce ...

, in anti-drug missions.

Reserve

It is the reserve element of the BDF that maintains the traditions of the old Barbados Regiment, and is responsible for the regiment's colours. The reserve element also consists of three companies: *Headquarters Company (which includes the Band of the Barbados Regiment) *2 Rifle Companies *Coast Guard Reserve

Air Wing

Fairchild C-26 Metroliner The Fairchild C-26 "Metroliner" is the designation for the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner series twin turboprop aircraft in the service of the United States military. It was not officially named by the US Armed Forces, but is unofficially known ...

(2) *

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

(1) * Cessna 402C (1)

Colours

The Regimental Colour of the Barbados Regiment was carried on all ceremonial parades when Barbados was a

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

, while the Queen’s Colour was carried only when a guard was mounted by the

Queen of Barbados The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy be ...

, the Barbadian Royal Family and the

Governor-General of Barbados The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados ...

Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965), was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the sister of Kings Edward VIII ...

, presented the regiment with its first stand of Colours on 23 February 1953. The Queen’s Colour was paraded in a

Trooping of the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...

for the first time on 19 February 1975 in the presence of

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

. It was also trooped on 21 November 1987 to mark the 21st anniversary of Barbadian Independence and on 4 June 2012 during the parade in honor of the

Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

. Barbados officially became a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

on 30 November 2021, with

Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 20 ...

as the first

President of Barbados The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...

. The declaration ceremony also included a

Presentation of Colours The Presentation of Colours is a ceremony that marks an anniversary or event in the history of a particular regiment. This involves the presentation of a new version of the regimental colour to a regiment or equivalent formation in the armed for ...

ceremony wherein the new colours were presented to the Regiment and the old colours officially retired.

Equipment

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...

No 4 Mk I – used by cadets as Drill purpose rifle *

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

Sterling submachine gun The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun (SMG). It was tested with the British Army in 1944–1945 as a replacement for the Sten but it did not start to replace it until 1953. A successful and reliable design, it remained as stan ...

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...

7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) *

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

Alliances

*{{GBR –

The Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

References

Military of Barbados Regiments of Caribbean nations Military units and formations established in 1902 British colonial regiments Military units and formations of Barbados in World War II