Cayman’s regiment is positioned to be the leader among the Caribbean overseas territories as it continues to grow and gain experience, a senior-ranking UK military officer has said.
Lieutenant Colonel Simon Dack, from the elite Royal Marines and the new defence attaché for the Caribbean, said that the Cayman Islands Regiment had gone from strength to strength since it was founded six years ago.
Dack, on his first visit to an overseas territory since he took over the post, told troopers, “My first visit was to Barbados. The second place was here and for a reason. I see the value in what you do.”
He added, “I would say I have been impressed by how quickly the Cayman Islands Regiment has progressed professionally.
“It is a very proud organisation and it’s almost as if they have been around for a much longer time.”
Dack said, “I can see Cayman becoming the exemplar regiment and the one which is going to lead the other overseas territories regiments.
“I think the overseas territories regiments could do more together, and Cayman will have a part to play in that in the future.”
Other overseas territories in the region that have recently formed military units are Turks and Caicos and Montserrat.
Dack highlighted the regiment’s participation in exercise “Event Horizon”, held in Jamaica, Cayman and off the coast of Haiti last year.
The major multinational and multi-agency disaster response and maritime security exercise, which involved 16 nations and territories, was led by the Jamaica Defence Force.
Dack, based at the British High Commission in Kingston, Jamaica, said, “The Cayman Islands Regiment has got a broad range of skills, which may have been developed in Cayman, but have already been proven regionally whether it’s on Event Horizon or other training with partners.”
Meeting with Cayman’s troopers
The 35-year veteran of the Royal Marines, who was awarded an MBE (Military Division) for “gallant and distinguished services” during the Iraq War in 2003, was speaking on 10 May as he met with regiment troopers. The regiment was practising for rapid deployment at short notice in response to a natural disaster such as an earthquake, using John Gray High School as an assembly point.
Dack added that Britain always stood ready to help the Caribbean territories in times of crisis and deployed a Royal Navy ship to the region and North Atlantic for disaster relief operations and drug interdiction.
“The UK remains a credible and reliable partner across the region in the protection of the overseas territories and making its regiments more resilient is a key priority for UK defence,” he said.
Dack watched as troops checked equipment and loaded vehicles ready for moving to key points across Grand Cayman.
He also promoted two soldiers from Cayman Brac, trooper Erick Goff to lance corporal and Lance Corporal Greg Shepherd to corporal.
Captain Cassandra Jocson explained the exercise covered sending out the notification of call out and the issuing of specialist equipment before troopers fanned out across the island.
Sergeant Major Jamie Martinez added the troopers had performed well under pressure, but that the purpose of the exercise was to improve response times.
He said, “We have found a lot of things where we can streamline and improve. The troops might not see the benefit the directing team is getting out of it.”
Martinez added, “We are seeing how we can make things better and that’s worth its weight in gold.”
Captain Gabe Rabess said that the aim was to have three teams used in rotation to ensure that soldiers got regular breaks during intense activity after a natural disaster.
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