The Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment was one of six regional militaries that participated in the Caribbean Reserve Training Camp in Jamaica in July 2026, a two-week exercise designed to strengthen tactical skills, leadership, regional cooperation and interoperability. Soldiers from other British Overseas Territories (BOT), including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and the Cayman Islands, also practiced combined operations with the Jamaican Defence Force and the nation’s reserve and junior cadet forces.
Brig. Gen. Ricardo Blidgen, brigade commander of the Jamaica National Reserve, said the training camp represents the cornerstone of the reserve’s operational readiness. “Soldiers and officers remain prepared to augment the regular force whenever required. Just last year, our reserves were heavily involved in the national response to Hurricane Melissa, which struck on October 28, demonstrating the critical role we play in Jamaica’s response to natural disasters, national emergencies, security operations and other contingencies,” reported the Jamaica Observer newspaper.
The annual exercise also included the United States’ District of Columbia National Guard. The training camp, which took place between July 11-26, offered opportunities for Soldiers to hone their skills in marksmanship, combat patrol tactics, reconnaissance, rappelling, river crossings and other infantry maneuver tactics. Search and rescue operations and humanitarian assistance techniques also were performed.
For the D.C. Guard, which also participated in 2025, the camp provided valuable training in interoperability and collaboration with partner nations and territories. “This training camp represented a vital opportunity to build readiness with our allies and partners in the [U.S. Southern Command] SOUTHCOM region,” said Maj. Gen. John C. Andonie, then commanding general for the D.C. National Guard, in 2025. The D.C. National Guard has had a state partnership relationship with the Jamaican Defence Forces for more than 25 years. The program is a key element of U.S. security cooperation and focuses on shared security goals, noncommissioned officer development, border security and counternarcotics operations.
Eight TCI Regiment Marines also participated in the camp, according to a regiment Facebook post. “For the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, this deployment represents an important investment in operational readiness, with training in combat marksmanship, land navigation, rappelling, watermanship, command tasks, conventional operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster response,” read the July 10 post.
The camp was the second deployment for the TCI Regiment to Jamaica this year. In February, five members deployed to Jamaica as part of a multinational BOT 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 Defence Force and Cayman Islands regiments to repair homes and infrastructure before the start of the next hurricane season, which began June 1. 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.
For the TCI Regiment, established in 2020, the deployment marked its first overseas mission. The deployment was the first time since World War II that citizens of the Turks and Caicos Islands served beyond their shores in response to a regional need.