Commander Aquinas Joseph Clarke MSM, BSc, MSc, MMAS, pcsc
Commander Aquinas Joseph Clarke joined the regular Force on 1 Jul 93. He received his early education at the St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Primary School and the Louis Lynch Secondary School (formerly the Roebuck Secondary School). After leaving secondary school he attended the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Campus.
Commander Clarke enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force on 1 Sep 91 as a member of the Barbados Defence Reserve and transferred to the regular Force on 1 Jul 93, on completion of his academic studies at the Barbados Community College.
He successfully completed basic officers’ training at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), UK in 1994. In 2001 he attended junior staff training at the Caribbean Junior Command and Staff College in Jamaica where he was awarded top student. He is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, the Nanjing Army Command College, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies and the Inter American Defence College.
During his career Cdr Clarke held the following appointments:
- Troop Commander – 1995 to 1998
- Assistant Staff Officer Finance and Procurement 1999 to 2001
- 2IC A Coy 2001 to 2002
- Officer Commanding A Coy (now Special Operations Coy) 2002 to 2004
- Staff Officer Operations and Training (G3 BDF) 2004 to 2007
- Executive Officer (Deputy Commander) Barbados Coast Guard 2008 to 2011
- Commanding Officer Barbados Coast Guard 2013 to 2016
Commander Clarke holds a BSc in Political Science with Law from the University of the West Indies, a MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom and a Master of Military Arts and Science (MMAS) degree from the US Army Command and General Staff College.
His interests include world politics, security risk management, disaster resilience, preparedness and response, international law and sports. He loves cricket, football and mixed martial arts. He is an untiring supporter of the West Indies Cricket and Manchester United Football teams. In his spare time he reads non-fictional material, he loves to shoot (he is a qualified firearms instructor and range officer with both military and civilian certification), he loves running, he hikes and he enjoys being involved in meaningful debates and discussions.
He is married and has 3 children.
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.
