Eleven marines have been added to the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment following the local military’s passing out ceremony at the Louise Garland Thomas High School in Providenciales on Saturday, August 19.
The event was attended by Governor Her Excellency Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, Premier Hon. Washington Misick, Minister of Education Hon. Rachel Taylor, and Permanent Secretary at the National Security Secretariat Tito Lightbourne, as well as family and friends of the marines.
Both the governor and the premier, while congratulating the new addition, acknowledged the sacrifice that they have already given to become part of the service.
Lieutenant Colonel Ennis Grant, Commanding Officer for the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, described the passing out ceremony as a very special occasion.
“It is the first time since our three years of existence that we have had training locally and done by our own marines,” Grant explained. “And these are marines who would have joined in 2021 and would have received training in Turks and Caicos Islands, Bermuda, and a few of them went to Guyana recently. We have had a number of training inputs from the Royal Navy, virtually, as well as from our Permanent staff instructor who is from the Royal Force Regiment in the UK, who have been with us for the past seven months.”
Grant said the regiment was hoping to graduate more personnel this time around, but some of those who declined to join were looking for a permanent occupation, whereas the regiment is reserve.
“Today we have eleven persons (graduating). We fell short of what we were looking for. We initially were looking for 40 persons. I think what we found out from the recruitment is that most of the persons are looking for permanent positions, whereas we offer reserve positions,” Grant further noted.
He pointed out that by 2028, the TCI Regiment is looking to swell its number to at least 150 members from its current 69.
“Currently, with this new cohort, we are at 69, comprising of officers, warrant officers, commissioned officers, and marines. We, we are hoping, by the end of this year to build about 100. The target for about 2027 – 2028, we want to be about 150. And this particularly to deal with the challenges of our border…we don’t expect the challenges of our border would go away. We think it would continue to grow.
“So, we have to have a strategic plan, which is well resourced and the personnel and equipment to really meet the future challenges that we might have,” Grant continued.
He pointed out that since the TCI Regiment’s formation some three years ago, the entity had lost about three to four members.
“We have had some persons who came in and said that they don’t think this is what they want to do. Just a few, probably about three or four. But generally, we have a good interest among the marines.
“It is a challenge when you are competing with your full-time job and having to fill a reserved position. Some of the employers have been very supportive, and we are very grateful for that, and that goes a long way for us,” he further stated.
In the meantime, the TCI Regiment commanding offer pointed out that joining the TCI Regiment comes with a sense of duty to country, which does not jeopardize one’s permanent job.
“As a reserve position, it is about giving service to your country. It is service above yourself. And we only ask that you give about 12 hours per week. So, you do your training, which is once per week, and we have some deployments which is nightly, and which last up to four-five hours.
“Annually, we ask you to complete a summer camp, which is two weeks of training, which could be locally or overseas, and then we have a weekend exercise that we do,” Grant further noted.
Meanwhile, Commanding Officer Grant said the top brass of the TCI Regiment is working to make the entity enticing to members of the public by offering some sort of benefits.
“One of things that we have done to get the regiment attractive is that we try to ensure that we pay our stipend. We also offer an accidental death and dismemberment insurance for our marines, so, each of our marines have accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
“So, if they are injured in the course of their duties, whether locally or overseas, and means that they are incapacitated in any way, then they would be able to get some sort of financial incentives.
The insurance also covers a small medical attendance fee, so that is a good thing as well. But it is a tough task to get people into the reserve. It is a commitment especially in these challenging economic times. But nonetheless, we have some committed persons, and we are very grateful,” Grant said.
Comentarios