‘Proven Excellence’

The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is celebrating its 45th anniversary with a packed calendar of activities, according to the Chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Lovell.

During a media launch on Wednesday, the Military Advisor to the Chief of Staff announced that the island’s troops will celebrate the milestone under the theme Proven Excellence Shaping the Future.

“We chose this very apt theme for this year of activities, fully cognisant of the juncture at which Barbados currently stands with four and a half decades of outstanding achievements behind us and with myriad opportunities in our future,” said Lt Col Lovell who also disclosed that the BDF will also be celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Barbarous Cadet Corps.

The line-up of events which the BDF has planned, he said, will be a dynamic mix of pomp, pageantry, fun and frolic in which the public will have the opportunity to participate.

Amidst the celebration, the BDF will also provide security during global events being hosted in the country, including the ICC World Cricket World Cup 2024 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“Despite the fact that we will be celebrating our milestones, we will by no means leave any stone unturned. We will cross our t’s and we will dot our i’s with regard to the preparation and the execution of our duties with respect to supporting the Government of Barbados for these global activities. We will continue to provide, with support from the Barbados Police Service and a number of other agencies, a safe and secure environment in which these global activities can be hosted,” Lt Col Lovell assured.

He added that the anniversary activities were designed to address key issues such as the government’s “pursuit of our sustainable development goals, activities to improve our collective health and wellness, to display our environmental responsibility and to focus on bringing the communities together”.

Included in the myriad of activities is a community project on Saturday, March 16 when the BDF will clean, renovate and uplift several public and private spaces on the island.

“You will see members of the Barbados Regiment, the Barbados Coast Guard, The Barbados Cadet Corps and some of our partners in civil society descend upon various communities, beaches and even the maritime space. “You will see the members of the Barbados Regiment providing assistance to one of our public primary schools; you will see the members of the Barbados Regiment going into the communities to help our vulnerable, our elderly where they will be renovating one or more homes of some of the elderly members of the [Barbados] Legion,” Lt Col Lovell said.

The BDF will also host a four-part lecture series to be held at the Cave Hill Campus, 3Ws Oval on March 27, August 28, September 25 and October 30, with the first keynote speaker being The Most Honourable Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic.

The general public will also get the opportunity, via The BDF Experience,  to visit the BDF’s various bases and see what they do daily. There will also be an “enhanced” anniversary service at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium at 10 a.m. on August 11, among other activities.

(FW)