Grand Cayman, 16 August 2022 – The Cayman Islands Regiment (CIR) welcomed 29 recruits as part of its Cohort 3 in a graduation ceremony held on Sunday, 14 August 2022, at Cayman International School Arts and Recreational Centre.    

 The new recruits received two weeks of intense basic military skills training, marking the start of their service in the CI Regiment. This included first aid, communication and navigation skills, basic water rescue as well as humanitarian and disaster relief skills., 

With approximately 110 uniformed service personnel to date, of whom 95% are reservists, CIR continues to support the Cayman Islands uniform services’ resiliency mission by offering a national reserve service and support infrastructure for all three islands. 

As such, all CIR training is undertaken in collaboration and partnership with other emergency services including Hazard Management (HMCI) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), Cayman Islands Coast Guard (CICG) and Cayman Islands Fire Service (CIFS). This ensures personnel are trained to provide resilience and support in any national emergency such as an earthquake, pandemic, tropical storm, hurricane or major fire. 

Commenting on the recruit training, CIR Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Watson explained, “The training is key towards CIR deployment service to support our wider community through teamwork and partnership while undergoing mental and physical training. The CI Regiment provides support to our partner uniform services in the event of a national emergency. As such, it is imperative that our recruits are trained in a wide range of skills to ensure they are aptly prepared to respond in varying emergency scenarios across all three islands.”  

With recruits from Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, Cohort 3 was supported by a training team from the United Kingdom. The team comprised a number of instructors with a range of different skill sets to provide the necessary training in a safe environment to the recruits.

“This is the 3rd and final training team from the UK that assisted the Regiment with its recruit training. Moving forward, CIR will be undertaking all basic training internally with its own trained instructors,” Lt. Col. Watson continued.

In addition to the basic military training administered, the UK training team also coordinated military instructor training courses geared towards further building CIR local support resiliency and development. Four CIR personnel underwent Drill Instructor Training (DIT) while four others underwent Physical Training Instructor (PTI) course.

Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Sabrina Turner presented certificates to the Regiment personnel who successfully completed the PTI and Drill instructors’ courses, along with the best performing personnel within each course. Two awards were also presented during the ceremony to the Best international student from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, which was presented to 2^nd Lieutenant James MacFee and the Best Cohort 3 Recruit, which was awarded to Trooper Darrel Evans.

“As the Minister responsible for Home Affairs, I am proud of the dedication, willingness and achievements of the men and women of the Regiment Cohort 3. Their support of our uniformed service infrastructure in the event of a national emergency is commendable,” the Minister noted.

His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Martin Roper, OBE, who attended and inspected the parade of the new recruits, said, “Disaster preparedness and response are the primary purpose of the Regiment. They have already been tested and proved their worth. They have rescued people from flooded homes after tropical storms, distributed food aid to families in need whilst in COVID quarantine, cleared storm debris, and so much more. 

“Cayman is better placed to respond to natural disasters thanks to the dedication of this group, who in turn are learning many valuable, transferrable skills. I am pleased UK support has enabled Cayman to make rapid progress in setting up the Regiment from scratch, building on the dedication and hard work of those in the Regiment, Ministry of Home Affairs and all who have supported its development”.