The Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force is the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

. It currently consists of an infantry unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Regiment) and a maritime unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Coast Guard). Both units have regular and reserve elements, all of which fall under the command Force Headquarters (FHQ, SKNDF). The current Commander of the SKNDF is Lt. Col. J. Anthony Comrie. The SKNDF has an active force of 300 personnel with a corps of 150 cadets. The commander takes orders from the Minister of National Security.

Mission

The primary mission of the Infantry element is the internal security of St Kitts and Nevis, in conjunction with the

local police Municipal police, city police, or local police are Law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the Municipality, municipal government, where it is the smallest Administ ...

, while the Coast Guard is responsible for guarding the country's territorial waters and enforcing ecological regulations. One of the major roles of the entire organization is drug trade interception, which is often undertaken together with the local police, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

and the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. The SKNDF is also used in the provision of relief after natural disasters and in overseas

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

roles, principally within the Regional Security System.

History

The SKNDF was originally formed as a volunteer unit in 1896 in response to riots in several sugar plantations. One such riot is commonly known as the Portuguese Riot which took place at Needsmust Estate and resulted in the destruction of a large number of properties. Therefore, the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

determined that it was necessary to establish a local force to combat future riots until reinforcements could arrive from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. The force originally consisted of an Infantry unit and a

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

unit, however, the latter was later disbanded and absorbed into the Infantry. The regular defence force did not come into being however until 1967, when it was decided that a regular army was needed following public disturbances on the island of

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

, which was attempting to secede from its federation with Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the determination that the existing volunteer force was not adequately trained to deal with the situation. The first Defence's manpower came from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force's Tactical Unit and the Special Service Unit. The forming of the regular defence force was a major policy of the ruling Labour Party, and was adamantly opposed by the opposition

People's Action Movement The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds one of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election ...

(PAM). When the PAM came to power in 1980, they made the decision to disband the regular force, leaving only the reserve. The election of Denzil Douglas in 1995 saw the new government reform the regulars.

Regular Corps

The regular corps of the SKNDF consists of: *'A' Company: This is the regular

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

unit of the SKNDF. It is under the command of a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and consists of an HQ and three rifle platoons. *Support and Services Platoon: This is the administrative and logistics element, and includes two other individual units: **The Agricultural Corps *Coast Guard: This is the marine element, and is divided into three sub-units: **CG Headquarters **Engineer Unit **Flotilla – this is responsible for the operation of the five vessels of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's lone off-shore patrol vessel was donated by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Equipment

*3x Daimler Ferret FV-702 4x4 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) *

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (introduced as the Land Rover One Ten, joined in 1984 by the Land Rover Ninety, plus the extra-length Land Rover One Two Seven in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup trucks. They have f ...

4x4 * Sterling L2A3 9mm SubMachine Gun (SMG) *

FN FAL The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953. During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...

50-00 **

L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), also known by the initial Canadian designation C1, or in the U.S. as the "inch pattern" FAL, is a British version of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle. The L1A1 was produced under licence and adopted by the arme ...

7.62mm Semi-Automatic Rifle (SAR) * FN-MAG 7.62mm Light Machine Gun (LMG) * L16A1 81mm Mortar * M16A4 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle * M16A3 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle * M16A2 5.56mm NATO Assault Rifle *

M4A1 The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 rifle, M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by ...

5.56mm NATO Carbine

Organization

*Force Headquarters *Saint Kitts and Nevis Regiment *Combat Service and Support Unit

Reserve Corps

The reserve corps of the SKNDF consists of: *'B' Company: This is the reserve infantry unit, and mirrors 'A' Company in structure. *Coast Guard: This provides reserves for the Coast Guard. *St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Band: The Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Band founded in the early 1930s and serves as the official

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

of the country. It has varied in size over the years, from a low of 15 to a high of 48. A subunit of the Band is the

Corps of Drums A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Dru ...

. The band is led by a

Director of Music A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

, which is currently Captain Sylvester Charles. *St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force Cadet Corps: consisting of 150 cadets (80 senior & 70 junior)

Facilities

* Kitts and Nevis Defence Headquarters Building at Camp Springfield * Coast Guard Base at Bird Rock * Bath Village

References

External links

St. Kitts and Nevis
{{Military of North America Regiments of Caribbean nations British colonial regiments Military units and formations established in 1896 Military units and formations of British Leeward Islands in World War II