Changing of the guard
New JDF head promises immediate crime-fighting measures
CHIEF OF Defence Staff Major General Rocky Meade has vowed increased support for the police as the nation continues to struggle with a major crime problem.
Addressing a vibrant Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Change of Command Parade at Up Park Camp yesterday, Meade said that while some of the solutions to Jamaica’s crime problem must be implemented over the long term, there are some immediate strategies that the security forces must partner to address.
“I encourage you to appreciate that our most significant challenges are multifaceted and impacted ... by our more deep-rooted problem of how we view and respond to our fellow men,” said Meade.
“The security solution is necessarily multisectoral and, as the prime minister said, ‘every Jamaican can play their part’. There is no quick fix ..., but while we lay the foundations for the long term, there are immediate and urgent security challenges, and we have already increased our support to the police to mitigate the impact,” added Meade.
“It is our goal to assist the police in bringing wrongdoers to face the justice system. Just yesterday, one of our patrols brought in a young man found with an illegal weapon,” noted the veteran army man.
Meade thanked his family and relatives for their support over the years and acknowledged the soldiers under his command, who, he said, put their lives on the line daily to protect their country.
Earlier, Meade launched the Caribbean Journal of Strategic and Security Studies, which is aimed at encouraging critical thinking and analyses.
He said the JDF is committed to playing its part in the prime minister’s employment and engagement programme aimed at increasing the interaction with community youths.
Meade replaces Major General Antony Anderson, who served as chief of defence staff since 2010.
Anderson is now the country’s first national security adviser.