THE Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard last week commemorated its 29th Anniversary with a thanksgiving ceremony held at Coast Guard Ship Hinds, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
This year’s anniversary is being celebrated under the theme, “Defining Aggression, Enforcing Laws, Protecting our Maritime Space for Total National Defence,” GDF said in a release.

The service was attended by Inspector General, Colonel Trevor Bowman, Senior Officers of the Force, Coast Guard Ranks and special invitees. Commander of the Coast Guard, Commander Orin Porter, in his feature address, expressed thanks to the stalwarts who worked tirelessly to chart the course of the unit, a course which started with the Marine Wing and evolved into the Coast Guard.

Commander Porter, in his reflection of the past year, noted that the unit has conducted patrols into the hinterland waterways as well as joint patrols with other agencies. This harmonisation, he stated, has seen a reduction in piracy in the waterways, as well as fishermen being prosecuted for illegal acts. Touching also on the area of training, he noted that the Coast Guard continues to conduct training courses which also caters to members of the sister services – the Guyana Energy Agency and the Guyana Revenue Authority.

Additionally, the Coast Guard commander acknowledged the challenges which lie ahead, but told ranks gathered at the service “national defence is paramount and we must protect our maritime environment. We need to secure our sea area, protect the resources therefore and be ready to defend it…We need to have better maritime domain awareness, be able to better define aggression through surveillance and patrolling, enforce our laws while defining aggression, and protect our maritime space for total national defence,” he said. To this end, he told ranks that this could only be achieved through consistent hard work, commitment, training and execution of the unit’s mandate, and embracing the force’s values and standards.

The colour of the Coast Guard was also consecrated during the service. A recognition ceremony was held following the church service, during which serving and retired personnel were rewarded for their contribution towards the development of the Coast Guard.

Colonel Gary Beaton, who is also a former commander of the Coast Guard, was rewarded for his engineering contribution to the unit which includes the design of the floating base at Pomeroon, while Retired Former Commander, Geoffrey George, was awarded for his role in the negotiation for the acquisition of the GDFS Essequibo. Former Commander Retired Captain John Flores, who was the first captain of the vessel, was also honoured, while Retired Chief Petty Officer, Lawrence Sinclair, was awarded for being the vessel’s first Regulating Chief Petty Officer. On the occasion of the 29th Anniversary, the Coast Guard also commissioned three recently-acquired inshore patrol vessels.