The Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force is the

military 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 ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...

. It currently consists of an infantry unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Regiment) and a maritime unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Coast Guard). Both units having regular and reserve elements, all under the command Force Headquarters (FHQ, SKNDF). The current Commander of the SKNDF is Major J. Anthony Comrie. The SKNDF has an active force of 300 personnel with a corps of 150 cadets. The commander takes orders from the Minister of National Security.

Mission

The primary mission of the land force element is the internal security of St Kitts and Nevis, in conjunction with the local police, while the coast Guard is responsible for guarding the country's territorial waters. One of the major roles of the entire SKNDF is drug trade interception, which is often undertaken together with the local police and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The SKNDF is also used in the provision of relief after natural disasters and in overseas

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 ...

roles.

History

The SKNDF was originally formed as a volunteer unit in 1896 in response to riots in several

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

plantations. The regular defence force did not come into being however until 1967, when it was decided that a regular army was needed following public disturbances on the island of

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...

, which was attempting to secede from its federation with Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the determination that the existing volunteer force was not adequately trained to deal with the situation. The first Defence's manpower came from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force's Tactical Unit and the Special Service Unit. The forming of the regular defence force was a major policy of the ruling Labour Party, and was adamantly opposed by the opposition

People's Action Movement The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds four (largest share) of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a ...

(PAM). When the PAM came to power in 1980, they made the decision to disband the regular force, leaving only the reserve. The election of

Denzil Douglas Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He was t ...

in 1995 saw the new government reform the regulars.

Regular Corps

The regular corps of the SKNDF consists of: *'A' Company: This is the regular

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

unit of the SKNDF. It is under the command of a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and consists of an HQ and three rifle platoons. *Support and Services Platoon: This is the administrative and logistics element, and includes two other individual units: **The Agricultural Corps *Coast Guard: This is the marine element, and is divided into three sub-units: **CG Headquarters **Engineer Unit **Flotilla – this is responsible for the operation of the five vessels of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's lone off-shore patrol vessel was donated by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Equipment

*3x

Daimler Ferret The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...

FV-702 4x4 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) *

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup ...

4x4 * Sterling MK-4 9mm SubMachine Gun (SMG) *

FN-FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of ...

50-00 ** L-1A1 7.62mm Semi-Automatic Rifle (SAR) *FN-MAG 7.62mm Light Machine Gun (LMG) *L-16A-1 81mm Mortar *M16A4 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle *M16A3 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle *M16A2 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle *M4A1 5.56mm NATO Carbine

Organization

*Force Headquarters *Saint Kitts and Nevis Regiment *Combat Service and Support Unit

Reserve Corps

The reserve corps of the SKNDF consists of: *'B' Company: This is the reserve infantry unit, and mirrors 'A' Company in structure. *Coast Guard: This provides reserves for the Coast Guard. *St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Band: The Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Band founded in the early 1930s and serves as the official

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

of the country. It has varied in size over the years, from a low of 15 to a high of 48. A subunit of the Band is the

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 ...

. The band is led by a

Director of Music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

, which is currently Captain Nigel Williams. *St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Cadet Corps: consisting of 150 cadets (80 senior & 70 junior)

Facilities

* Kitts and Nevis Defence Headquarters Building at Camp Springfield * Coast Guard Base at Bird Rock * Bath Village

References

External links

St. Kitts and Nevis
{{Military of North America Regiments of Caribbean nations British colonial regiments Military units and formations established in 1896 Military units and formations of British Leeward Islands in World War II