Lieutenant Colonel N W Tomlinson
Commanding Officer Support and Services Battalion

Lieutenant Colonel Norman Tomlinson is the Commanding Officer of the Support and Services Battalion. He was re-appointed the Commanding Officer on November 6, 2001 having just completed a Masters Degree in Post War Recovery Studies at the University of York.

He was born in September 1953 in the Parish of Westmoreland.  He attended the Mannings High School and at the age of 20 he enlisted in the Jamaica Defence Force as a Potential Officer.  His first major experience in the military was his initial officer training as a Commando at the renowned Royal Marines Commando Training Centre in the UK.

From September 1975 – March 1977 he was a Platoon Commander in the First Battalion and excelled to the top of the ladder as the Commanding Officer by June 1995.  In April 2001 he was posted to the Support and Services Battalion as Commanding Officer.  In the interim he became a Staff Officer in 1977 and subsequently served in the Second Battalion as Adjutant, Operations Officer and as Company Commander from January 1979 to December 1986.  He was then posted to the Support and Services Battalion as the Officer Commanding the JDF Training Depot in Newcastle from December 1986 to December 1989.  He then moved on to the Third Battalion, National Reserve as the Training Major to November 1993.  In September 1993 to December 1993 he was on the Directing Staff of the Junior Command and Staff College, he further went on to be the Chief Instructor the following year and ultimately became Commandant in 1996.  During this period he also held the appointment of Second in Command of the Support and Services Battalion.

In 1985 whilst serving as a Major, Lt. Col. Tomlinson was awarded the military Medal of Honour for General Service achieved from an operational tour in Grenada during 1983 to 1984.  In 1993 he received a second award, the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service and was subsequently promoted Lieutenant Colonel in July 1995.

He attended several Staff Colleges; The Canadian Forces Staff School, Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, British Army Staff College and the Administrative Staff College in Jamaica now known as the Management Institute for National Development.  He attended three peace keeping courses and completed a course for Combat Team Commanders, all of which were held in Canada.  He also attended the Language Training Centre and holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Management and Production in Jamaica.