Trinidad and Tobago Regiment

Trinidad and Tobago Regiment

Cap badge of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment
Active 1962-present
Country Trinidad and Tobago
Branch Army
Type Infantry/Engineers/Service and Support
Role Light role (two battalions)
Engineers (one battalion)
Logistic Support (one battalion)
Size Four battalions ~ 4000
Part of Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force
Garrison/HQ RHQ - Chaguaramas
1st Battalion - St. James
2nd Battalion - Chaguaramas
3rd Battalion - Wallerfield
4th Battalion - Chaguaramas
Motto(s) To Guard and Defend
Commanders
Current
commander		 Major General Kenrick Maharaj
Commander in Chief President Anthony Carmona
Notable
commanders		 Lt Col P Pierce Gould (First Commanding Officer: 1962-1964)
Maj Gen Ralph Brown (1988 - 1991)

The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment is the main ground force element of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. It has approximately 2,800 men and women organized into a Regiment Headquarters (located in Port of Spain) and four battalions. There is also a Volunteer Defence Force that has been renamed the Defence Force Reserves. The regiment has two primary roles; Maintaining the internal security of Trinidad and Tobago and the assistance of local law enforcement.

As one of the larger military forces in the region, the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment is also one of the main units used in peacekeeping and humanitarian situations from the Caribbean region, most recently in Grenada after Hurricane Ivan.

The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment also provides the bulk of the musicians assigned to the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, the world's only military steel band.

History

The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment has its origins the late 19th century, though it was directly spawned from the break-up of the Federation of the West Indies in 1962. At that time, the two battalions of the West India Regiment were split and came under the control of the main nations formed by the split. The 1st Battalion became the 1st Battalion, Jamaica Regiment, while the 2nd Battalion was transferred to Trinidad and Tobago to become the 1st Battalion, Trinidad and Tobago Regiment. A second battalion was raised in 1965, but was disbanded in 1972.

Major conflicts

The Trinidad and Tobago Regiment has been involved in two major conflicts.

See: Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt
Captain (Capt) Roger McLean with the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, at the V.C. Bird International Airport, on the island of Antigua in 2002.

International missions

Other incidents

Organisation

Although it is called the Trinidad & Tobago Regiment, the unit is in fact structured more like a light infantry brigade, with a pair of infantry battalions, plus engineering and logistic support units:

The Regiment maintains a base at Camp Omega, also at Chaguaramas, used primarily for specialised training.

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Aircraft

Fixed Wing Aircraft

Helicopters

References

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ↑ Trinidad and Tobago - FOREIGN RELATIONS
  2. ↑ UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN HAITI - Facts and Figures
  3. ↑ HISTORY OF THE FIRE SERVICE
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