BCG 40th Anniversary Church Service
BDF Media Release| 24 Feb 19
Photography credit: Lieutenant Shimar Gollop
Embrace the Past; Celebrate the Present; Chart the future, was the theme of the Barbados Coast Guard’s 40th Anniversary Church Service held last Sunday at the Whitepark Wesleyan Holiness Church. The Service was attended by the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.
Since its establishment, the responsibilities of the Barbados Coast Guard (BCG) have expanded significantly. The interconnected and multifaceted Caribbean region, is threatened by the steady escalation of illicit trafficking; primarily of illegal drugs and small weaponry through its prized tranquil waters. Commander Mark Peterson, Commanding Officer of the Barbados Coast Guard indicated that the Barbados Coast Guard’s role in Port and Maritime Security will continue to increase, as the organisation ensures that the safety of those visitors and locals alike is protected through enhanced port and maritime security patrols as well as the establishment of special teams to respond to threats of terrorism.
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The Government of Barbados has made a number of obligations under international law, and it is the duty of the Barbados Coast Guard to ensure that these obligations are met and the waters that engulf our shores are safe, and secure for all. The Barbados Coast Guard of 40 years onward, aims to be a dynamic and proactive organisation; an organisation of pride and industry. In so doing, the unit will continue to embrace the past, celebrate the present and chart the future as part of the Barbados Defence Force’s service to uphold its motto – a symbol of excellence.”
The Barbados Coast Guard regularly carries out maritime counter illicit operations with our national and regional law enforcement partners such as the Royal Barbados Police Force, Customs Enforcement and The Regional Security System Air Wing. After its modernization and transition to HMBS PELICAN in 2007, the BCG has conducted 239 successful counternarcotics operations, netting approximately 30,000 lbs of marijuana and 425 kgs of cocaine with a combined estimated street value of over $700 million Barbados dollars. The BCG has notably conducted 476 successful Search and Rescue Missions, 11 medical evacuations of injured mariners from vessels at sea and 10 regional humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions in support of the Regional Security System.
Highlights
Commodore (Cdre) Errington Ricardo Shurland was appointed Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 1 September 2021. He enlisted in the BDF in February 1984 and in a military career spanning over 34 years, has served in various operational and administrative appointments.
Colonel Glyne Grannum joined the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 18 October 1985 and underwent career development training at the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School, Chilliwack and the Combat Training Centre, Gagetown New Brunswick, Canada. He subsequently attended the Infantry Training Centre and the Signal Wing in Warminster, UK (PCBC and RSO Courses respectively), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy; the Lester Pearson Canadian Peacekeeping Centre, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army People’s Republic of China and the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, Washington. He also attended a Defence Resources Management programme at National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, Canada. In addition to being a qualified infantry officer, Col Grannum is a qualified Regimental Signals Officer and a former Operations Officer and Finance Officer of the BDF.
Colonel Banfield joined the Barbados Battalion of the South Caribbean Force in 1941 having just left the Cadet Corps at Combermere School, and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. He was a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander during the war and served in Barbados, Dominica (as part of the Gale Force), St Lucia and St Vincent.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Colin Marshall is a graduate of the St Michael, and was born on the 5 November 1969 and enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force on 16 August 1994. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in August 1997, Corporal in 1999, Sergeant in 2007, Color Sergeant in 2014, Warrant Officer Class Two in 2017 and Warrant Officer Class One in 2020. He was Most Outstanding Student on Junior Leadership Course in 1998, the Most Outstanding Student on Junior Non Commissioned Officer Cadre in Jamaica in 2000, best at Leadership on the Search Adviser Course in Jamaica in 2007 and the Most Outstanding Student on the Warrant Officer Course in Jamaica in 2015.
