Barbados Defense Force (BDF) - Personnel
According to several sources, actice personnel total 610 (Army 500 Navy 110), with 430 Reserve personnel (Joint 430). The ground forces are formed into a single cadre Infantry battalion. The size of the BDF was unclear in the late 1980s; estimates ranged from 300 to 1,800, with 500 the most commonly cited figure. BDF force levels were considered confidential under the Adams government. The steady rise in defense spending from 1979 through 1986 probably indicated a steady increase in BDF personnel over that period. Because the defense budget was not made public, the breakdown of personnel versus equipment expenditures was uncertain.
The BDF was both a recipient and a provider of training. The coast guard received the lion's share of the foreign training provided to BDF personnel. Formerly handled by Britain and the United States, this foreign training program was transferred to Canada by the Barrow government in August 1986. Barbadian trainers assisted in the instruction of paramilitary troops from other regional states.
The all-inclusive model used in Exercise Tradewinds 2017 focused on Countering Transnational Organised Crime and Humanitarian Aid Disaster Response. Over 100 persons answered the national call to be a part of Exercise Tradewinds 2017 by signing up during a volunteer drive across Barbados. That figure added to the growing number of persons signing up online for the regional exercise, which is being held in partnership with the US Southern Command and hosted by Barbados from June 6 to 12, under the theme: A Seamless States Partnership for a Secure Region. Close to 800 volunteers came forward, allowing members of the Exercise TRADEWINDS 2017 Secretariat to stage a realistic exercise from 6 to 12 June 2017 across Barbados. Wwhile the Secretariat had originally made a call for 1,200 volunteers, only close to 800 signed up. However,that number was more than enough to allow members of the forces to stage a realistic exercise.
By 2008 the BDF, estimated to be about 600 strong, had been unable to attract applicants which meet the basic enrollment qualification. The Cadet Corp is the traditional breeding ground for the BDF. The fact that cadets, who have been closely associated with the BDF over the years are reluctant to join may well be a clear indication that all is not well in that body. It was strange that in a society where jobs are hard to come and where the challenges that face the military are largely ceremonial, there should be such a dearth of applicants to join the BDF, and even stranger that such large numbers at both low and senior levels were rushing to resign.
The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) gives males and females the opportunity to join the Force’s Regular (full-time) and Reserve (part-time) Elements. Successful applicants will be required to undergo recruit training for five months. On successful completion of that training, they will be assigned to either the Barbados Regiment (Infantry Unit) or the Barbados Coast Guard (Maritime Unit) of the BDF. Those interested in becoming full-time members should be between the ages of 18 and 25; be citizens of Barbados by descent or naturalisation; and have CXC certificates in Mathematics and English. Applicants who are 17 years and 9 months must include a letter of consent from their parent or guardian.
Those applying for the Reserve Element must be between 18 and 30 years old, but if they are 17 years and 9 months, they must include a letter of consent from their parent or guardian. The other requirements are similar for those applying to be full-time soldiers. The BDF has advised that persons with visible tattoos will not be considered for selection.
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