Defence

By GHK Lall There was this sharp intensity of hard passions, as I absorbed two news developments from late last week. In view of the harsh, unforgiving tones and postures anyone could easily have mistaken the news reports as being about Guyana and its ugly political squabbles. In those two instances, they were not. For it was about powerful Venezuelan ...

The Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) is benefiting from the expertise of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for a capacity building workshop on Port Safety Management. The first such training exercise in Guyana – a three-day seminar – opened Monday morning at Regency Suites, Georgetown. Participants include port facility security officers and representatives of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) ...

  A Venezuelan-registered helicopter, piloted by a former Venezuelan military intelligence officer, made a fiery landing on Mount Ayanganna while on a mission for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), officials said. A GDF spokesman confirmed that the incident occurred in late May while the Alouette helicopter, bearing registration markings YV-3214, was taking a plaque and other items to Mount Ayanganna ...

Almost one year after they were purchased by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), two used Skyvan planes arrived Thursday and are expected to go into regular operation very soon unlike the two Britten-Norman Islander planes that remain grounded since they arrived, sources said. The army did not officially announce the arrival of the Skyvan aircraft, but sources said they touched ...

The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, President David Granger, on Thursday announced that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) would be getting more aircraft, including drones, this year. Addressing the opening of the 2019 Annual GDF Officers’ Conference, Granger said some of the GYD$14 billion allocated to the GDF this year would be used to purchase “light transport aircraft” as well ...

Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips on Sunday suggested he is “available” to enter the political arena. When asked whether he has been approached to become the prime ministerial candidate for the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Phillips insisted that he would not be responding to “rumours”. Pressed on whether he would ...

As the government moves to ensure the safety of all Guyanese, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) completed a national policy on Mass Casualty Management (MCM) and Incident Command Systems (ICS). the CDC will be taking steps to implement the policy countrywide. Acting Director General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig said that Guyana, like any other country, is vulnerable ...

The Guyana Police Force is preparing to increase its law enforcement personnel as plans proceed for creating 10 police divisions across the country, President David Granger and Police Commissioner Leslie James said Thursday. Addressing the opening of the 2019 Police Officers’ Conference at State House, the Guyanese leader noted that the police force is “distributed very unevenly” across Guyana with ...

The Guyana Defence Force on Tuesday – New Year’s Day 2019 – announced that 706 other ranks were promoted. Heading the list of promotions is 17130 Substantive Warrant Officer Class Two Marvin Pilgrim who has been elevated in rank to Acting Warrant Officer Class One. The full list of promotions is below