Jamaica Regiment and National Reserve veterans mark first anniversary of old colours laid up at garrison church

Retired senior Jamaica Regiment officers have used the first anniversary of old unit colours being laid up at the garrison church to spell out why the flags matter and how they are meant to be handled.

Lieutenant Colonel Derek Robinson (Retd.), who once commanded 2nd Battalion The Jamaica Regiment (2 JR), said the colours now resting in church had been presented to the 1st Battalion in 1963. His father, then Lieutenant Colonel Dunstan Robinson, held command at the time, which Robinson said made that set of colours a personal anchor for him.

Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) D.C. Laban also spoke during the reflections, alongside Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) Hugh Mills, who said he had led both the regular component and the Jamaica National Reserve, including a stint as commanding officer from about 2007 to 2012.

Mills traced how a commanding officer and the regimental sergeant major travel to the manufacturer overseas—he cited a July 2014 presentation after a prior visit to Canada—to check that the finished colours meet Jamaica’s regulations before they are accepted locally, rather than taking delivery unseen.

He described the colours as the point where soldiers assemble and as a fixed reference for the battalion, and noted that 3rd Battalion The Jamaica Regiment (National Reserve) received its colours in 1965, ahead of the regular battalion. Those flags, he said, served the reserve well as an emblem of pride that the unit rallied to and defended.

The retired officers stressed that colours move only under tight security with weapons present, and that casing, uncasing, and related drill follow set procedures. They appealed to young infantry officers and other ranks to learn the sequences so knowledge survives for later generations, and said recruits joining the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) should study the organisation’s history.

Robinson said he hoped serving members would value what earlier generations did and keep customs alive. Mills added that he expects positive developments ahead, believes the force is well led, and intends to stay in touch while remaining part of what he called the “maroon machine” and the wider JDF family.