Shaggy “Extremely Proud” Of New JDF Chief Antonette Wemyss Gorman
Dancehall megastar and Gulf War veteran Shaggy says he is immensely proud of newly-minted Chief of Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman, who is the first woman to head the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).
The Strength Of A Woman singer’s well-wishes came in the aftermath of Wemyss Gorman’s official appointment to the position last Thursday, January 20. Her ascension to the leadership role, also makes her the second woman in history to command a national army and the only current female defence force chief.
“Congratulations goes out to Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman on being appointed Chief of Defence Staff of the JDF. The 1st woman to hold such a post … and the only current serving female Army Leader in the world congratulation!!!!” Shaggy noted on his Instagram page on Monday, days after Wemyss Gorman assumed the JDF’s top post.
“As an ex-Military Man myself I’m extremely proud of her accomplishments. #strengthofawoman,” former US marine added.
Wemyss Gorman, who hails from the Top Alston in Clarendon, is a career officer in the JDF for 29 years, while Shaggy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 18 in 1988 after migrating from his native Jamaica. Back then, he was deployed to Kuwait for a five-month tour of duty two years later, where he served with a Field Artillery Battery in the 10th Marine Regiment during the Persian Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm.
In the case of Weymss Gorman, she has distinguished herself as an officer in the JDF. In January 2020, the former JDF Coast Guard head assumed the post of Force Executive Officer, with the responsibility to provide strategic guidance to the Force in support of the then Chief of Defence Staff.
As the Force Executive Officer, she formulated and directed Force policies whilst coordinating all the Staff Branches responsible for the daily operation of the JDF.
The 49-year-old alumni of the US Naval War College, was also the first and only woman in the JDF to attain a Flag Rank, and served as Commanding Officer of the JDF Coast Guard between 2013 and 2018. Wemyss Gorman also served the JDF in several capacities as Brigade Commander, Maritime Air and Cyber Command between 2018 and 2019.
A graduate of The University of the West Indies, she has also served on secondment as Technical Director of Marine Transport in the Ministry of Public Utilities and Transport between the years 1998 and 2000.
She also played an integral role in the establishment of the Caribbean Maritime Military Training Centre (CMMTC) along with the development of the core courses offered there.
Under her tenure, hundreds of officers, locally and regionally, have become proficient in Military Maritime Operations.
She is a Subject Matter Expert representing Jamaica at the International Seabed Authority, a Maritime Expert on the National Negotiating Team with regards to Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries (Jamaica- Honduras) and the Jamaican representative on the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Maritime and Aerial Domain Technical Working Group.
Since 2019, Weymss Gorman, who holds a Master’s Degree with distinction in National Security and Strategic Studies from the UWI, has been the JDF’s lead officer on all bi-lateral partnerships with major defence organizations in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. She is also the Force lead and Chief Editor of the Strategic Defence Review for 2017 to 2037.
Wemyss Gorman has received several awards over the years for her service to Jamaica, including Jamaica’s Order of Distinction (Officer Class), the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service, Medal of Honour for General Service, Medal of Honour for Long Service and Good Conduct, The Queens Jubilee Medal, and The Military Commendation Medal.
In 2015, she was awarded for Distinguished Leadership by the United Way Women Leadership Initiative (WLI).
The mother of one was also recognised by the Women in the Caribbean Maritime Association for contribution to Regional Maritime Security in 2019.