Royal Bahamas Defence Force

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HMBS Bahamas P-60 in Nassau

Under The Defence Act, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) has been mandated to defend The Bahamas, protect its territorial integrity, patrol its waters, provide assistance and relied in times of disaster, maintain order in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies of The Bahamas, and carry out any such duties as determined by the National Security Council.

1 Structure
2 History
3 RBDF overhaul
4 External links

[edit] Structure

There are two career tracks in the RBDF, Marine (rate) & Officer. The enlisted personnel are called Marines. There are 1,002 members of the Defense Force.

Only two patrol vessels are now in operation, though several are to be returned to service. Most of the missions consist of anti-poaching patrols, anti-drug immigration enforcement, Search and Rescue, or general National Defense missions.

There is also one aircraft that has returned from the United States after being refurbished. However, while there are no qualified pilots (as of December 2006) to fly the aircraft, which belongs to the Air Wing, several are being trained.

The Headquarters of the Defence Force are at RBDF Base Coral Harbour, on Nassau Island. The commander is Commodore Clifford 'Butch' Scavella

The RBDF uses the British Royal Navy style of insignia, thus all ships carry the title HMBS (Her Majesty’s Bahamian Ship).

Because of the lack of ships, most RBDF members do not spend time at sea, and are used for other military or non-military roles.

Peacekeeping missions have been conducted with the participation of RBDF members in El Salvador and Haiti.

[edit] History

By an Act of Parliament, the RBDF became an official entity on March 31, 1980, falling under the Ministry of National Security.

The only combat action the RBDF has ever been involved with has been against Cuba.

On May 10, 1980, the HMBS Flamingo attempted to arrest two Cuban fishing vessels, the Ferrocem 165 and the Ferrocem 54, for poaching in Bahamian waters.

In retaliation, two Cuban MiG-21s invaded Bahamas airspace and fired on the patrol boat. The Cubans sank the ship with their 23 mm cannons, and fired upon Marines in distress in the water. Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams, all Bahamian Defense Force Marines, were killed in the attack. Fifteen crewmen and the Commander made it safely to Duncan Town, on Ragged Island, after being picked up by the very fishing vessels they had boarded.

The poachers were convicted in July 1980, and Cuba eventually admitted responsibility, paying the Bahamas $10 million in compensation for the incident.

[edit] RBDF overhaul

During a radio interview on the Bahamas radio station Love 97 'Issues of the Day' show on December 5, 2006, the RBDF commander stated that there were only two patrol boats operational and there is only one plane in service, but no pilot trained to fly the aircraft. He also stated that up to 25% of the ranks of the Defence Force are 'bad apples' and need to be weeded out.

The commander also stated that there are many programs being studied set to improve the Defence Force's capacity to provide security for Bahamian territorial waters. The future revitalization of the RBDF will include the provision of additional aircraft, increased manpower & salaries, base facilities and command outposts.