Coast Guard - The Jamaica Defence Force

Historical Background
Structure and Organisation
Missions
Training
Exercises
Unit Notice Board

MOTTO: Service for the Lives of Others.

Historical Background
A year after the Jamaica Defence Force was formed in 1962, a naval arm, the ‘Jamaica Sea Squadron’ was added. The squadron’s initial equipment/vessels were three 63ft wooden World War II torpedo recovery boats provided by the United States Government. They were commissioned (Her Majesty’s Jamaican Ship) HMJS Yoruba (P1), HMJS Coromante (P2) and HMJS Mandingo (P3). A training team from the (British) Royal Navy assisted with the unit’s early development.

The Sea Squadron was renamed the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard (JDF CG) in 1966 and the naval White Ensign, naval rank insignia and Royal Navy – patterned uniforms were adopted. (All JDF ranks hold substantive army rank but those in Coast Guard service customarily use naval terminology, titles and uniform.)

That year, the JDF CG also disposed of its original fleet of patrol boats, which had been found inadequate. It acquired the first of three 85 ft all aluminium Bay Class Patrol Boats which was commissioned HMJS Discovery Bay (P4). Two other Bay Class boats, HMJS Holland Bay (P5) and HMJS Manatee Bay (P6), were commissioned in 1967. (Only the Holland Bay still remains in service.)

The JDF CG acquired two other offshore patrol vessels, HMJS Fort Charles (P7) and HMJS Paul Bogle (P8), in 1974 and 1985 respectively.

Structure and Organisation
The Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard is headed by a Commander who reports directly to the Headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force. The unit’s manpower is divided between sea-going crews for the patrol boats and a shore-based support staff and out-station crews.

The unit commander has direct command over three naval bases: the Headquarters and main base at Port Royal (HMJS Cagway) which controls the operations of two out-stations; one in north central Jamaica at Discovery Bay and the other, off-shore to the southwest of Jamaica at the Pedro Cays.

The Coast Guard’s complement stands at 27 regular officers and 160 ratings. Officers generally have substantive ship appointments with secondary shore-based appointments in the area of training, operations, marine safety and diving.

Missions
The Coast Guard has four primary missions:

Maritime Law Enforcement
A large percentage of the planning and underway (seagoing) time involve enforcing Jamaica’s maritime laws, with special emphasis on illicit drug trafficking. Other law enforcement duties include enforcement of immigration, customs, fisheries and wild life protection laws.
Maritime Safety
The Coast Guard is Jamaica’s on-scene coordinator for maritime search and rescue. The maritime area of responsibility is approximately 90,000 square miles. The JDF CG operates an international radio station on a 24-hour basis, monitoring all international distress frequencies. The unit is also the national co-ordinator for containment and recovery of oils and other hazardous spills. Boating Safety and Marine Inspection are new roles for the Coast Guard, which, among other preparations, in now training selected personnel as marine inspectors.
Defence Readiness and Naval Duties
As naval arm of the JDF, the Coast Guard maintains proficiency to support the other arms in their roles of defence and maintenance of law and order. Joint training and supporting missions are often undertaken. The Coast Guard also carries out joint training with visiting foreign naval vessels.

Nation Building
The Coast Guard holds diverse skills for maintaining essential services during periods of civil industrial actions. These include crane operation at the docks, fire fighting and other civil-type activities. The JDF CG also supports non-government organisations in survey and maritime research activities.

Training
All Coast Guard personnel undergo basic military training at the JDF Training Depot at Newcastle, St Andrew. On completion of basic training, officer cadets are sent to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England where they receive basic naval training.

Ratings undergo continuation training at Moneague Training Camp, St Ann. On completion, they are sent to HMJS Cagway for a basic seamanship course which includes swimming and boat- handling. The sailors are then allowed to specialise in seamanship, communications, diving, and marine or electronic engineering.

Similar specialised training is done in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Exercises
The Coast Guard participates with other arms of the JDF in support of their watermanship training, ditching drills abeach landings. JDF CG also exercises with visiting land and naval forces. Some of these training exercises are Exercise TRADEWINDS involving the United States and Eastern Caribbean countries, Exercise STEEL DRUM with the British Marines and Exercise SANDSTORM with British and United States troops.

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