Royal Bahamas Defence Force

The Bahamas was granted self-government from Great Britain in 1964, the result of which was a change in status from colony to become The Commonwealth of The Bahamas in 1969. On July 10th 1973, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas gained sovereignty. With the responsibility of Independence from Great Britain, came the task of patrolling a coastline that un-scrolls to 2,200 nautical miles, derived from over 700 islands and cays sprawled over nearly 80,000 square miles of sea. Obviously to maintain political and economic jurisdiction over such an expansive area of sea was no easy undertaking and could only be performed by a marine force that was adequately and substantially equipped.

Positioned between North and South America, The Bahamas experienced on a regular basis, attempts to violate its territorial integrity by those who seek to use it's waters as a transit corridor, principally for the smuggling of illicit drugs and illegal immigrants. Poaching threats affects the economic livelihood of the nation, illegal immigrants problems drain resources and impose excessive strain on the social services, and unless drug trafficking could be curtailed, the social and normal fibre of the nation would be undermined. It became quite obvious that the meager resources of the marine division of the Royal Bahamas Police Force were inadequate for the task at hand.

With the establishment of the Bahamas Defence Force, several officers from the Royal Navy - which had continued to conduct sporadic patrols - were obtained on loan to develop a blue print along the organizational lines of the Royal Navy, with special emphasis on Maritime Law Enforcement. In 1976, Commander Casper William Swinley, Sussex, England, became the first of a small team of technical, training, and specialist advisors promised the Bahamas Government. Commander Swinley assumed command of the new Bahamas Defence Force. Soon after his arrival in Nassau, he was joined by Captain Derek Matthews, RN, who assisted in the establishment and running of the Defence Force. Additional Royal Navy Officers soon followed in the persons of Commander Donald Seaman, Commander John Dinnen, and Lieutenant Peter Basher.

Training agreements with the British Government also provided for the training placement of two Bahamians to be a part of an ensuing junior officer's course at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England. Kenneth Gordon Turnquest, who at the time was serving in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and Peter Daniel Drudge Junior, a student, were the two selected and became the first two Bahamian officers. Kenneth Turnquest was born at Deadman's Cay Long Island and Mr. Drudge was born in Ottawa Canada, the son of Bahamian and Canadian parents.

It was decided that the Defence Headquarters and base would be situated at Coral Harbour, an ex- hotel and marina facility on the southwestern tip of New Providence. On Commodore Swinley's recommendation, the Bahamas government ordered two 103 ft. patrol boats (HMBS Flamingo and HMBS Marlin), and three 60 ft. vessels (Exuma, Abaco, and Inagua) from Vosper Thornycroft Limited, Southern England. The two larger vessels, HMBS Flamingo and her sister ship HMBS Marlin, sailed across the Atlantic from the UK to Nassau under their own steam, and was manned by a Bahamian crew who were all members of the Bahamas Defence Force and the Police Marine Division.

Early in 1978, the RBDF marines began going to sea in conjunction with police marines of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Later that year, the marine division of the Police Force was amalgamated with the Defence Force with many members transferring to the RBDF, and all of the crafts fell under one administration and were stationed at Coral Harbour. Commander Dudley Allen, RN, then a police officer, brought his four police patrol boats (San Salvador, Andros, Acklins, and Eleuthera) and men with him. this, along with the five crafts of the Defence Force (Exuma, Abaco, Inagua, Marlin and Flamingo) brought the strength of the Force's fleet to nine and over 300 officers.

On the 4 September 1979, the Defence Act was passed in Parliament, and officially established for the Bahamas to maintain a force to be called the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. Section four of that act gave the force its mandate. While the Royal Bahamas Defence Force as a small force could not provide defence against warfare in the armament sense of the term it was established to provide needed and necessary defence in many other forms, and the act provided that the Defence Force be charged with the following;

The Defence of The Bahamas
Protection of territorial integrity of The Bahamas
The Patrol of the waters of The Bahamas
That it should generally provide assistance and relief in times of disaster
The maintenance of order in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies such as the police, customs and immigration
Any such other duties as may from time to time be determined by the Security Council.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne unveiled a commemorative plaque on the base in 1979, christening the Bahamas' new defence force base: Her Majesty's Bahamian Ship Coral Harbour. Hence all Defence Force craft, inclusive of Coral Harbour base, are referred to as Her Majesty's Bahamian Ship (HMBS). The official date of establishment of the Defence Force was recognized on 31 March 1980.