About

THE BARBADOS COAST GUARD

ABOUT THE BARBADOS COAST GUARD

The Coast Guard Service was a civilian unit established in August 1974 and at that time it was located at Enterprise, Christ Church. The roles of the Coast Guard Service during that period were; Search and Rescue, investigating the illegal entry of persons and goods, while enforcing the law against the dynamiting of fish around the coastal waters of Barbados.

The Coast Guard Civilian Unit Service was dissolved in September 1978 and the Defence Act of 1979 (Part X) made provision for the creation of the Barbados Coast Guard as the maritime element of the Barbados Defence Force. Before 1979, the BCG was referred to as the Maritime Wing of the Barbados Regiment. It is under this Act that new and expanded roles were created for the Barbados Coast Guard (BCG).

BCG is responsible for the enforcement of provisions of every law relating to the regulation of any harbour or port of Barbados, quarantine, immigration, fisheries, territorial waters and economic zones, safety at sea, the detection and prevention of the contravention of laws relating to revenue and customs; the prevention or persons from boarding, holding or clinging on to any vessel without the permission of the master of the vessel, and, if necessary, the removal of any such person from the vessel. For the purposes of carrying out their duties, the members of the BCG have the same powers, authorities and privileges as are conferred by law on members of the Police Force. In accordance with the Defence Act, BCG has particular powers of arrest under 16 enactments of Law.

The motto of the Barbados Coast Guard is ‘Per Deo Per Mare’, which translates to “By God, By SEA”.

In 1981 HMBS WILLOUGHBY FORT was commissioned as the Barbados Coast Guard base and in 2007 it was de-commissioned when the new base, HMBS PELICAN was commissioned at Brandons, Spring Garden.

Command Element

Commanding Officer

Commander
Mark Peterson

Commander Mark Anthony Peterson joined the Barbados Defence Force at the age of 18 after being a member of the Barbados Cadet Corps. He enlisted in March 2000 in the Barbados Regiment before being selected to attend a Basic Officer’s Training Course in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001. There, he was awarded the coveted Baton of Honour for his performance on course. Upon his return to Barbados in 2002, he was posted to the Barbados Coast Guard, before being shipped off to the Britannia Royal Naval College for his naval training. While at Dartmouth, he represented the College in football and cross country running. He was granted the distinguished privilege of escorting the Queen’s Colour for the graduation parade of a senior batch…….

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Lieutenant Commander  Mark Peterson

Commander Mark Anthony Peterson joined the Barbados Defence Force at the age of 18 after being a member of the Barbados Cadet Corps. He enlisted in March 2000 in the Barbados Regiment before being selected to attend a Basic Officer’s Training Course in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001. There, he was awarded the coveted Baton of Honour for his performance on course.

 

Upon his return to Barbados in 2002, he was posted to the Barbados Coast Guard, before being shipped off to the Britannia Royal Naval College for his naval training. While at Dartmouth, he represented the College in football and cross country running. He was granted the distinguished privilege of escorting the Queen’s Colour for the graduation parade of a senior batch. After completing naval training, he was posted to HMS ANGLESEY for further Officer of the Watch training. There he was attached to the UK’s fishery protection fleet deployed in the English Channel and the North Sea before returning home to serve in the Barbados Coast Guard.

In the Barbados Coast Guard, he has served on board the flagship HMBS TRIDENT as Navigation Officer and Officer in Command of the Small Boat Flotilla, the premier operational arm of the Unit. In 2005, he was the first Barbadian to attend a Special Operations Course in the People’s Republic of China. On completion of this course, he was posted to the Force’s Training Company as Training Officer for Recruit Intakes 1/2005 and 1/2006. Commander Peterson’s next assignment was as Executive Officer on board the second new Offshore Patrol Vessel to arrive in Barbados in December 2007. In 2009, he assumed command of the vessel at the age of 27, becoming one of the youngest Commanding Officer in Barbados’ history. As CO, one of his first deployments was to the Fifth Summit of the Americas where they were part of a multi-national task group responsible for the safety and security of President Barrack Obama on his inaugural visit as well as other visiting dignitaries. He was awarded the General Service Medal for service rendered to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

In 2012, again he was the first Barbadian to attend the Naval Command Course at the People’s Republic of China Naval Command College. On completion of this course, he was posted as Staff Officer Operations and Training from January 2013 to 15 February 2015. Thereafter, he assumed command of the Barbados Coast Guard from 16 February 2015 where he is currently employed.

Commander M Peterson is a qualified French Commando, a Range Conducting Officer, USCG trained Boarding Officer, Law of Armed Conflict Instructor and US Navy trained diver, among others. He is the recipient of the Defence Board Commendation, the General Service Medal (5th Summit of Americas), the General Service Medal (Glendary), the Barbados Service Medal of Honour and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Commander M Peterson holds a Diploma in Architectural Drafting, an Executive Diploma in Management from UWI Cave Hill and a MSc with distinction in National Security and Strategic Studies from UWI Mona. He is married with 2 sons.

 

Executive Officer (XO) Barbados Coast Guard

Lieutenant Commander

Derrick Brathwaite

Lieutenant Commander Brathwaite joined the Barbados Defence Force in January 1997 where he served 3 years as a seaman ashore and afloat. He attended the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2000 and underwent his basic naval young officer’s training. On return to Barbados he served in several junior posts as a seagoing officer on-board the BCG’s lone OPV including Deck Officer, Navigation and Executive Officer of HMBS TRIDENT. Lieutenant Commander Brathwaite has held several other military appointments during his of service.  These include Executive Officer HMBS TRIDENT – 2003 – 2007, Executive Officer HMBS LEONARD C BANFIELD – 2007 – 2008, Commanding Officer HMBS RUDYARD LEWIS – 2008 – 2014, Divisional Officer Operations – 2011 – 2012, Executive Officer (ag) BCG – 2014 – 2017..

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Lieutenant Commander Derrick A Brathwaite

Lieutenant Commander Brathwaite joined the Barbados Defence Force in January 1997 where he served 3 years as a seaman ashore and afloat. He attended the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2000 and underwent his basic naval young officer’s training.

On return to Barbados he served in several junior posts as a seagoing officer on-board the BCG’s lone OPV including Deck Officer, Navigation and Executive Officer of HMBS TRIDENT. Lieutenant Commander Brathwaite has held several other military appointments during his of service.  These include:

  • Executive Officer HMBS TRIDENT – 2003 – 2007
    Executive Officer HMBS LEONARD C BANFIELD – 2007 – 2008
    Commanding Officer HMBS RUDYARD LEWIS – 2008 – 2014
    Divisional Officer Operations – 2011 – 2012
    Executive Officer (ag) BCG – 2014 – 2017
    Commanding Officer (ag) – 2017 – present

 

He has also participated in several overseas operational deployments mainly in a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capacity. The main ones of note are Grenada (2004) and Dominica (2015) as an immediate response to severe weather systems impacting on those countries.

Lieutenant Commander Brathwaite is a French Qualified Commando, search and rescue planner and USCG trained Boarding Officer. He holds a BSc (UWI) and a Master of Military Science (MMSc) Degree from the Peoples Liberation Army (Navy) of China.

 

Fleet Master Chief

Master Chief Petty Officer 1
Austin Howell

Master Chief Petty Officer Class 1 Austin R Howell was born on 10 October 1970 and joined the reserve element of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) in September 1987. He recruited and was transferred to the full-time element of the BDF in September 1989 and was posted to the then Commando Squadron at Paragon Base. He was promoted to the rank of lance corporal in December 1992, to the rank of corporal in August 1995; to the rank of sergeant in December 1999; to the rank of Chief Petty Officer in August 2007, to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer Class 2 in August 2013 and Master Chief Petty Officer Class 1 in April 2017.

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Master Chief Petty Officer Class 1 Austin R Howell

Master Chief Petty Officer Class 1 Austin R Howell was born on 10 October 1970 and joined the reserve element of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) in September 1987. He recruited and was transferred to the full-time element of the BDF in September 1989 and was posted to the then Commando Squadron at Paragon Base. He was promoted to the rank of lance corporal in December 1992, to the rank of corporal in August 1995; to the rank of sergeant in December 1999; to the rank of Chief Petty Officer in August 2007, to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer Class 2 in August 2013 and Master Chief Petty Officer Class 1 in April 2017.

During his career, he completed his Junior NCO’s cadre in 1992, his SNCO’s cadre in 1997 and his Warrant Officer’s Course in Belize in 2013, where he was awarded best student. He also completed his Advanced Drill course in October 2016. Additionally, during his career, he attended several military courses both local and overseas,  namely, the Barbados commando course, the Martinique commando course, Advanced Jungle course in Dominica,  Internal Security Instructors course, Puerto Rico in 1994, Light wheeled Vehicle Mechanic course in the USA in 1997, Instructors development course in Puerto Rico in 2000, Range Authorization course in 2004, Divemaster in 2006,  and he also successfully completed an Underwater Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) course in the United Kingdom in 2007.

His military operational deployments include deployments to The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in July 1990 during the attempted coup, Haiti in 1994 during the attempted coup and Grenada in 2004 during relief efforts after hurricane IVAN. He is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, The General Service Medal, the UN service medal and the Barbados Service Medal of honour.