The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

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 ...

. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the Barbados Defence Force is located at St. Ann's Fort, The Garrison,

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

Organization

There are three main components of the BDF: * The Barbados Regiment – This branch is commanded by the Commanding Officer of the Barbados Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Lovell and is based at St Anns Fort and Paragon Base. This is the main land force component, and encompasses both regular and reserve units. * Barbados Coast Guard – This branch is commanded by the Commanding Officer of the Barbados Coast Guard Commander Mark Peterson and is based at HMBS Pelican. This is the maritime element, with responsibility for patrolling Barbados' territorial waters as well as drug interdiction and humanitarian and life-saving exercises. It too encompasses both regular and reserve units. * Barbados Air Wing – This branch was formed in 1971, it operated one Beech Queen Air. In 1981 a Cessna 402C was acquired. Since 1985 all aircraft have been retired and the air wing ceased to exist but the BDF is looking to re-establish an air wing.

Other formations

Barbados Cadet Corps

This branch is commanded by the Commandant of the Barbados Cadet Corps

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicator ...

Peter Powlett. This is the military youth organisation of the Defence Force. Includes Infantry and Sea Cadets. This organisation was started in 1904. The first females joined the cadet corps in the 1970s to 1980s. The Cadet Corps has a pledge and also a song. It started with 3 normal units but today has expanded to 22. These units are grouped into zones. There are also a band, sea cadet, and medical units along with a shooting programme.

BDF Sports Program

The Barbados Defence Force Sports Program is the sporting arm of the BDF, specializing in the recruitment and training of athletes in five sports;

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, cricket,

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table di ...

, athletics and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

Barbados Legion

Similarly to its American, British and Canadian counterparts, the BDF has a voluntary veteran's organization known as the Barbados Legion. It was founded in 1957, nine years prior to independence. Being a registered charity, it receives assistance from the Barbados Poppy League and the national government.

Bands

The Zouave Band is the premier musical unit in the BDF, with the other being the band of the Barbados Cadet Corps. Its national uniformed military counterpart is the Barbados Police Band. It traces its own history back to the Band of the West India Regiment, which is considered to be the precursor to most Caribbean military bands formerly under British control. As a result, the band also has a shared lineage with the Jamaica Military Band. The BCC maintains a marching band known as the National Cadet Band and performs on national occasions with the BCC and the BDF. It is composed of students from public and private schools in the area. They performs in two modes configurations: a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

and a

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion fam ...

. The band of dates back to the early 1920s when the local cadet corps maintained a

fife and drum corps A Fife and drum corps is a musical ensemble consisting of fifes and drums. In the United States of America, fife and drum corps specializing in colonial period impressions using fifes, rope tension snare drums, and (sometimes) rope tension bass ...

. Between 1950 and 2006, individual school units had drum corps which catered to the activities of the unit and school. In 1973, the Combermere Cadet Band was formed and for 22 years it was the only brass and reef cadet band among other secondary schools on the island. Its last performance was at the Independence Day Parade of 1995 when the National Cadet Band was formed. As part of the

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

anniversary celebrations of the BCC in 2004, the Band became a permanent full-time unit, performing at an Independence Day Parade that year and again the following year.

Traditions and ceremony

Uniform

In 1856, a French

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated uni ...

uniform was adopted and was first paraded in Barbados in 1858. It was subsequently adopted by the Barbados Defence Force Band as a symbolic tribute to the old Band of the West India Regiment. The uniform is also worn by the Jamaica Military Band. It consists of a red fez wound together by a white turban and a scarlet sleeveless jacket. It survives as the

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, in ...

and is where the band's nickname; the Zouave Band; derives from. It is commonly believed that

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

saw the uniform worn by the colonial Zouaoua tribe in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. She was immediately struck with the style of the uniform and the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

to adopt the uniform for one of its regiments, with the honour being conferred onto the West India Regiment.

Changing of the Sentry

The Changing of the Sentry is an event performed by the BDF that takes place in front of the 1804 Main Guard or Clock Tower. The guardsmen from the BDF are known commonly as The Main Guard. The sentries are drawn by members of the Barbados Legion, other retired personnel, and the

Barbados Regiment The Barbados Regiment is the land force component of the Barbados Defence Force. Its main tasks are the defence of Barbados from external threats, internal security and assisting the local police in maintaining law and order. The regiment also pro ...

. During the ceremony, a

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

provides musical accompaniment. It is performed every Thursday morning at 11:45 am.

Leadership

Commander in Chief

Since 30 November 2021, President

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 2 ...

has been the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Forces. Prior to the transition to a republican system, the monarch of Barbados,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, was head of the Defence Force, with the Governor-General as her viceroy.

List of Chiefs of Staff

Leadership structure

*Chief of Staff - Commodore Errington Shurland *Deputy Chief of Staff - Commander Aquinas Clarke *Force Sergeant Major - Master Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Howell

Gallery

US Navy 100824-N-9643W-390 Capt. Michael Jacobsen, center, Capt. Kurt Hedberg, left, and the commanding officer of the Barbados Defense Force look at old photos.jpg, The former Commander of The Barbados Coast Guard, the late lieutenant Commander Sean Reece, meets two US Chiefs of Staff during a visit to the island USMC-10618-M-OS573-002.jpg, A US Marine participates in a BDF training exercise concerning crowd control US Navy 100817-N-4971L-021 Members of the Royal Barbados Defense Force disassemble a small boat engine during a maintenance management subject matter expert exchange.jpg, Members of the BDF disassemble a boat engine during training exercises with the US Navy PH-MAZ Directie Noordzee (cropped).jpg, A Cessna 402C similar to the one used by the BDF

References

External links

Barbados Defence Force official website
{{Military of the Americas Military of Barbados Defence organisations based in Barbados Military units and formations established in 1979