In a symbolic announcement made Saturday during the first-ever Commander-in-Chief Parade at St Ann’s Fort in The Garrison, Barbados President Jeffrey Bostic has declared he will remove his long-held military rank of Lieutenant Colonel from all official titles, stepping into his new role as the nation’s head of state under the honorific “The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic”.
Bostic, who spent 26 years in service with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF), opened up about his decades-long connection to the national military and the deep pride he has carried for the rank he earned through his years of active duty. Even after transitioning to a career in politics, Bostic intentionally chose to keep his military title as a deliberate statement of what the BDF is capable of contributing to the nation, and to inspire currently serving troops to realize their own professional and personal potential within the force.
“Barbados had to understand what this force is capable of doing and who this force is capable of producing,” Bostic told the gathered service members. “It was supposed to be an inspiration to each and every one of you in uniform serving this force to understand what this force can do for you and what you can do for this force and this country.”
Now that Bostic has risen to the highest constitutional office in Barbados, the president says this career milestone marks a natural turning point to step away from his former military designation. “I’ve reached this point in my journey, this destination, this office of the president of this country and your commander-in-chief, and I’ve now determined that this is the time… that from my official title I will drop the lieutenant colonel,” he explained.
In a lighthearted aside, Bostic joked that combining his military rank and presidential honorific often created unnecessary confusion for event hosts tasked with introducing him at official engagements. “From now, I am very happy to be The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic,” he added.
Beyond the announcement about his title change, Bostic used the platform of the inaugural parade to encourage all BDF members to hold fast to the institution’s proud history and its far-reaching contributions to Barbados and neighboring Caribbean nations, especially through periods of national and regional crisis. “You are inheritors of the BDF, and the BDF is your inheritance,” he told assembled troops. “It built me, it sustained me for 26 years, and today it honours me with this command.”
Looking back on his years of active service, the president reaffirmed his enduring pride in the fellow service members he served alongside, and pledged to continue supporting all BDF personnel in his current constitutional role as the nation’s Commander-in-Chief. “Together we will guard this inheritance for Barbados and for those who come after us,” Bostic said, closing his remarks with a blessing for the force, its cadet program, service members’ families and the entire nation of Barbados.