Dear Editor,
The GDF has been in the news lately given coverage of high level visits, and joint manoeuvres and patrols. This prompted me to take a look at GDF inventory for the Coast Guard and the Air Corps, compared to our fellow CARICOM states. The conclusion is that for a country our size and with our coast line and territorial waters, the current equipment of the GDF is woefully inadequate to undertake proper patrols and search & rescue operations.
Over the years the GDF has had to contend with an ageing fleet of aircraft and ships. Many pieces of equipment were sold and the ones that replaced them were themselves aged and acquired in a seemingly random manner. Each government since independence holds responsibility for the current state of the Coast Guard and Air Corps, and as such carries blame for the current stock of equipment readiness.
As a point of comparison Guyana is over 70 times the size of Trinidad and Tobago. Our area – about 85% of which is forested – highlights the sheer size of population distribution and the need for logistical readiness in the event that rescue operations need to be undertaken in the most remote parts of our country. However our Air Corps has less aircraft – especially helicopters – than Trinidad and Jamaica, and our Coast Guard has less sizable patrol vessels than that of Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad.
Guyana is expected to rapidly transform from the oil wealth, and the potential influx of persons to our shores mean that we cannot keep operating an underequipped Air Corps and Coast Guard.
Government needs to take a hard look at our capacity and acquire equipment in a more targeted manner. We don’t need to look far to see how this can be done. For the most part Jamaica and Trinidad use ships and aircraft of a similar type. For example the Jamaica Air Wing uses mostly Bell helicopters, and the Trinidad Coast Guard uses mostly Damen Stan and Austral-made vessels. This – at the very least – increases the capacity of personnel to operate the different equipment with minimal disruption and delay, and is also better for servicing and spares.
No one is saying go out and buy hundreds of ships and aircraft. We are all aware of our limitations and multiple needs upon our revenue, but acquiring equipment in the manner we have done up to now is not doing the GDF any favours. Our men and women in uniform have on countless occasions responded internally and externally to operations critical to the safety of human life, it’s time they have the equipment to back their brave and selfless actions.
Yours sincerely,
V. Hemsworth
