BDF Deploys Second Contingent To SVG
BDF Media Release| 16 April 21
Photography: Private Kyle Straker
The Barbados Defence Force in its commitment to the relief efforts for St Vincent and the Grenadines in the aftermath of the La Soufrière volcano eruption, deployed its second contingent to assist our sister island.
Chief of Staff, Colonel Glyne Grannum along with other senior command, thanked the troops for their braveness in the face of the unknown and commitment to duty in service to Barbados and its interest. Colonel Grannum went on the encourage the troops formed up to remain steadfast in their tasks for the greater good, relying on the time invested in training, in order to respond effectively to such incidents.
The maritime unit of the BDF, the Barbados Coast Guard (BCG), will transport the contingent of the RSS, along with the members of the Caribbean Disaster Response Unit (CDRU) on board the unit’s offshore patrol craft (OPV). The CDRU comprises members of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) participating and member states. They will be responsible for the collection and distribution of relief supplies. At this time, CDRU members from Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will travel with the BCG on board HMBS LEONARD C BANFIELD and RUDYARD LEWIS. It is expected that other member states of CDEMA will join subsequently. One BCG OPV will then sail to St Lucia to receive additional supplies for transport to SVG.
The BDF will also deploy a 30-man platoon as part of the Regional Security System contingent to support the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) with security operations. A 10-man section from the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) will also be deployed.
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.
