In a powerful display of regional solidarity, five members of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Regiment deployed to Jamaica on February 15, 2026, as part of a multinational British Overseas Territories Contingent providing disaster relief after Hurricane Melissa struck as a Category 5 storm in October 2025. The TCI Marines joined forces with the Royal Bermuda and Cayman Islands regiments to repair homes and infrastructure before the start of the next hurricane season.
Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica’s western parishes when it made landfall on October 28 with top winds of 297 kph, the strongest recorded hurricane to hit the island. About 200,000 homes were destroyed and some communities remain isolated, a TCI government news release said.
The 2026 hurricane season starts June 1, so members of the Overseas Territories Contingent are hurrying to repair houses and infrastructure. The Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) has deployed 26 Soldiers and officers, while the Cayman Islands Regiment has sent eight.
Both regiments said their teams would be deployed in Jamaica for about two weeks. The RBR said team members’ specialist skills include carpentry, masonry, landscaping, construction and communications. The roof-repair mission was chosen for its capacity to bring results that will make “an immediate and tangible difference to the lives of those affected by the storm,” the RBR said.
The Overseas Territories Contingent will be embedded within the Jamaica Defence Force Engineering Regiment. In partnership with the Guyana Defence Force, which sent a team of 41 Soldiers to Jamaica in December, they will focus on repairing damaged roofs in the parish of St. Elizabeth, one of the hardest-hit communities. The deployment comes after the TCI government donated $1 million to Jamaica in November.
TCI Regiment Sgt. Kevin Hinds was chosen for the mission by Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Ennis Grant because of his expertise in hurricane recovery and reconstruction, the TCI news release said. He was joined by Cpl. Jean Tadeus, Lance Cpls. William Dean and Greggory Wilson, and Marine Richard Gardiner.
The TCI Regiment was established in 2020, and this deployment marks its first overseas mission, the release said. It’s also the first time since World War II that citizens of the Turks and Caicos Islands have served beyond their shores in response to a regional need.