The Royal Montserrat Defence Force is the home defence unit of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

. The force has an authorized strength level objective of 50 reserve personnel as of 2021-22, akin in size to that of a platoon-sized unit.

History

Foundation

The Royal Montserrat Defence Force was raised in 1898. The unit has a historical association with the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

The World Wars

At the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914 very quickly many in the Caribbean including in Montserrat mobilised.

1995-1999 Soufrière Hills Volcanic Eruption

During the Soufrière Hill Eruption the RMDF along with support from mainland UK Military forces was a vital asset the response in the evacuations and Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations.

King Charles III Coronation

In 2023, the Royal Montserrat Defence Force was one of four Caribbean British Overseas Military forces that took part in

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Coronation Parade. The RMDF was joined by Royal Bermuda Regiment, Cayman Islands Regiment, and Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment from the Caribbean.

Current Day

The Defence Force is today a reduced force of about forty to fifty volunteer soldiers, primarily concerned with civil Defence and ceremonial duties. The current Commanding Officer is Lieutenant-Colonel Alvin Ryan, who was first appointed the force commanding officer in 2014, and who assumed command from the late Captain Horatio Tuitt. The appointment of a unit commander at the Lieutenant-Colonel level in 2022 was a first-time event for the force. As a British Overseas Territory (BOT), defence of Montserrat remains the responsibility of the United Kingdom. On 5 September 2024 Governor of Montserrat announced Major General Alex turner as Honorary Colonel of RMDF.

Uniform

Ranks

Ranks are as follows:(The RMDF use the Star of St Patrick as a 'pip' like Irish Guards)

References

{{The British Army Government of Montserrat British colonial regiments Military units and formations established in 1899 Regiments of the British Army 1899 establishments in Montserrat Brades Military units and formations of British Leeward Islands in World War II Military of Montserrat