Page 103 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

Allied Regiments & Affiliated Ships
The Jamaica Regiment
Major Peter Shergold
The Colonel of The Regiment, Brigadier Andrew Williams OBE met with the Chief of The Defence Staff of Jamaica Defence Force, Major-General Antony Bertram Anderson in the return leg of a bilateral exchange. The senior officers were joined by the Colonel of The Royal Canadian Regiment, Colonel W. J. Aitchison, OMM CD. Both The Mercian Regiment and The Royal Canadian Regiment have an alliance with the Jamaica Defence Force.
The meeting discussed the state of the alliance and future training and exchange opportunities for
soldiers and officers
and access to a military over fifty times their size, but a similar regiment in scale, with the Mercian Regiment (we both have two regular and one reserve battalion).
The opportunities for The Mercian Regiment are obvious, but sometimes not articulated well; training is the obvious, with soldiers being able to work with foreign forces, develop as individuals and small units; a key skill in the modern world. However, the effect of these exchanges
is more than just training. They also help retention of soldiers and officers at key
Sgt Gordon VC
in the urban Jamaica, in a much more integrated way than our reserve battalion has done so that just recently.
The influence of the JDF and therefore the cementing of this reciprocal arrangement was the aim of the visit by myself and the Colonel of The Regiment. The visit was
not an end to itself, but the catalyst for a series of visits over 2015/16, up to the next key visit by the Colonel of The Regiment
in 2016. Each year the officers and WO1s of the Jamaica Regiment come together
to celebrate the awarding of two Victoria Crosses to two soldiers in their antecedent regiments (note we are not the only army to change face and name over time). The Victoria Cross dinner, is the key event in
a ‘Regimental Weekend’ which involves, church serves, beating the retreat and other regimentally recognisable events.
The Colonel of The Regiment presented a silver bowl to the Jamaica Regiment during the Victoria Cross Day celebrations in the regimental church service. In 1834 the 64th Foot were deployed on Foreign Service again, this time to Jamaica. The island was in a disturbed state following emancipation of the slaves that started in 1834, and
did not finish until 1838. During this time, various detachments were constantly on call for internal security duties. During its six years it suffered much at times from yellow fever, with six officers dying from the disease. It was a silver bowl of the 64th Foot which was presented to the JDF, this historical link, reflecting two centuries of
of the regiments.
The importance of
the alliances of The
Mercian Regiment
is often given token
support, with many
not understanding the
potential opportunities
presented by this
defence engagement ‘on tap’. The Jamaica Defence Force, specifically the Jamaica Regiment enjoy their relationship; they get exchanges with the British Army, many
of their officers’ train at RMAS, and many opportunities exist for individual courses, such as ICSC. But these exchanges are mainly at Army level and therefore they often do not see the advantage of their alliance with The Mercian Regiment. There are many advantages for them, from formal training exchanges, platoons on exercise
stages in their career. For example, sending a Captain who is about to enter the staff world, or a disillusioned Corporal to Jamaica may just retain them. Also at
the strategic level, regimental influence within small armies such as the JDF can
have considerable impact. The Colonel of The Regiment has email correspondence with the Chief of Defence Staff of the JDF and not many can claim this. Sport and adventure training opportunities are both retention positive and also some of the core fabric of the ‘Regimental System’. Other less obvious knowledge exchanges can also add value, such as the exchange of knowledge of how to work with the reserves; the 3rd Battalion JR works daily on kinetic counter insurgency operations
CoR and 2JR Visit
The importance of the alliances of The Mercian Regiment is often given token support
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