Governor General His Excellency Arthur D Hanna presents incoming Commander, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Commodore Roderick Bowe with the Instrument of Appointment at Coral Harbour Base, Thursday, January 21.
Nassau, Bahamas – HMBS CORAL HARBOUR BASE — The implementation of a Project Management Team (PMT) to assess the recommendations made by the Strategic Review Team almost five years ago with a view to implementing those measures that are still applicable to the Force, will be one of the first acts executed by the incoming Commander, Defence Force, Commodore Roderick Bowe.
Commodore Bowe became the fourth Bahamian to take over the reigns as Commander, Defence Force (CDF), Thursday, January 21, 2010, following Change of Command Divisions ceremony held at Her Majesty’s Bahamian Ship Coral Harbour Base.
Governor General His Excellency Arthur Dion Hanna; Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert Alexander Ingraham and Minister of National Security the Hon. O.A.T. “Tommy” Turnquest headed the list of state and government officials on board ship for the Change of Command ceremony.
CDF Bowe replaces Commodore Clifford Wellington “Butch” Scavella who has been appointed as Special Envoy to Haiti.
Commodore Scavella assumed command of the Defence Force three years ago from Commodore Davey Rolle, who was preceded as Commander, Defence Force, by Commodore Leon Smith (Rtd.) – the first Bahamian to fill the post.
Commodore Bowe said another of his first acts as CDF, will be the execution of an order for a review of the Force’s Military Justice System to ensure that discipline is maintained, but in a manner that is “fair, transparent and impartial”.
He said the review and the development of a plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Strategic Review Team (SRT), when combined with a number of other short-term objectives, will help to strengthen the Force in a number of critical areas both over the short and long term.
The SRT, which was conducted by a group of foreign military experts assisted by Bahamian resource personnel in 2005, made over 100 recommendations that focused mainly on three areas: fixing issues related to personnel and manpower; ensuring better use of available resources, and building Force capacity and capability.
Outgoing Commodore Clifford Wellington Scavella inspects the Divisions of the Defence Force during the change of Command Divisions at the Coral Harbour Base, Thursday, January 21.
