The Dominica Defense Forces (DDF) was the military of the

Commonwealth of Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. There has been no standing army in Dominica since 1981, when the Defense Force was disbanded in 1981 following two violent coup attempts against Dame Eugenia Charles. Defense is the responsibility of the

Regional Security System The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America. History The Regional Security System was created in 1982 to counter ...

(RSS).

History

By the 1960s, the police were the only security force in the country. As a result, a Volunteer Defence Force was established in 1974. In November 1975, a full-time Defence Force was established by an act of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

to replace the Volunteer Defence Force, headed by

Patrick John Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first Prime Minister of Dominica as well as its last Premier. He led Dominica to independence from the United Kingdom. He was leader of the Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union and ma ...

as Minister of Security. In March 1981, Charles announced the discovery of a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

attempt known as

Operation Red Dog Operation Red Dog was the code name of an April 27, 1981 military filibustering plot by Canadian and American citizens, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica, where they planne ...

, which involved Major

Frederick Newton Frederick Newton (1951 – 8 August 1986) was the head of the Dominica Defence Force (DDF) from its independence in 1978 to 1981. He was executed in 1986 for organising an attempted coup d'état in 1981 that resulted in the death of a police offi ...

, the head of the Defence Force. A month later, parliament disbanded the Defence Force.

Modern defense

The civil Commonwealth of Dominica

Police Force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

includes a Special Service Unit and

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

. In the event of war or other emergency, if proclaimed by the authorities, the Police Force shall be a military force which may be employed for State defence (''Police Act'', Chapter 14:01).cited literally from
The Caribbean: Defence and Security in the Anglophone Caribbean — The Roads to Cooperation
'' in ''A Comparative Atlas of Defence in Latin America and Caribbean'', 2010 Edition, table ''Defence Force’s Mission'', p. 113 (pp. 113-128, pdf p. 1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Of Dominica Government of Dominica Dominica Dominica Dominica