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.