The Jamaica Regiment
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| The Jamaica Regiment | |
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Cap Badge of the Jamaica Defence Force
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| Active | 31 July 1962–Present |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Light Infantry |
| Size | Three battalions |
| Part of | Jamaica Defence Force |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Kingston 1st Battalion - Moneague 2nd Battalion - Kingston 3rd Battalion - Kingston |
| Motto | First and Foremost (1st Battalion) Strive to achieve, never to yield (2nd Battalion) Always Ready (3rd Battalion) |
| March | Quick - Jamaican Defence Force |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HM The Queen |
| Insignia | |
| Cap band dicing | 50px 50px 50px |
The Jamaica Regiment is the main formation of land troops in the Jamaican Defence Force. It is a non-mechanised infantry regiment consisting of three battalions, two regular and one territorial. The regiment has two main roles:
- The territorial defence of Jamaica.
- Assisting the Jamaica Constabulary Force with local law enforcement.
The regiment has two main camps, with the two regular battalions rotating annually between them. The battalion at Up Park Camp in Kingston has a commitment to assisting the local police in maintaining law and order, while the battalion at Moneague Training Camp in Moneague, St Ann is mainly committed to anti-drug patrols. In addition, the regiment is one of the main units that supplies United Nations peacekeeping troops for situations in the Caribbean region.
History
The Jamaica Regiment was initially formed in 1954 as a unit on the British Army colonial list. In 1958, the Federation of the West Indies was founded, and the regiment passed from the control of the War Office to the new Federation government, where it, and the other infantry regiments of the various Caribbean islands, were disbanded and reorganised into the West India Regiment. This lasted only two years, before this was disbanded and each of the individual islands regained control over their own armies. Initially, the regiment consisted of the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion (National Reserve); however, the increasing array of tasks that the regiment was called upon to perform led to it being stretched. So, in 1979, three companies and part of the HQ of the 1st Battalion were split and used to form the 2nd Battalion; this mirrored the form and functions of the 1st Battalion. In 1999, the 2nd Battalion had the honour of mounting the guard at Buckingham Palace. The 1st Battalion undertook this during a visit to the UK in July and August 2007.
In 1983, the regiment participated in the United States-led invasion of Grenada.
Organization
- 1st Battalion - Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion - Light Infantry
- 3rd Battalion - Light Infantry - serves as the volunteer reserve battalion.
Music
The regimental march of the Jamaica Regiment is the JDF March. However, each of the regiment's three battalions has its own march:
- 1st Battalion – So Early In The Morning
- 2nd Battalion – 2nd Battalion West India Regiment (Königgrätzer Marsch)
- 3rd Battalion – Local Forces March
Alliances
Former Members
- Darren Jordon - Former BBC Newsreader
