By the time as this is circulated, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force should have its 8th Commander. For months, the rumor mill spun about who that person would be and admittedly I heard some so unbelievable names that I was instantly inspired to throw salt in a fire, to perish the very thought. Needless to say, but in the spirit of transparency, when asked these days, how do I feel about the dark horse that has emerged as the front runner? I admit plainly, that the reason I had never counted that horse was simply because I didn’t know that it was a horse! Not because I assumed he lacked anything, but because I anticipated that a man his age, who served all of his life and had recently restarted family life after graciously honoring the vows of his previous family life, was simply making preparations now to go and air dry his feet on the loft of a bone fishing lounge somewhere in Andros, the place that he has great affinity toward. So no I honestly never counted Floyd, but as luck and natural attrition would have it, he appears to be most naturally the next man inline and so I say, stand by everywhere for Floyd Moxey, Commander of the Defence Force.
Yes, that is correct. Floyd Moxey; the Aides to Navigation expert, a reserved, very mild mannered, fun lover, with a passive demeanor will be, His Majesty’s next Commander of the Defence Force and in usual fashion as I did for Commodore Bethel and Commodore King, I wish to offer now Commodore Moxey my advice, however, strangely unlike the times previous, I have no laundry list of considered advice nor do I have an array of self-constructed benchmarks for the new commander to meet in order to gain my support.
Admittedly, at the dawn of this new era and exchange of power, my singular piece of advice for the new commander, is for God’s sake, please Sir, No Crashes!
For what it is worth, Commodore Moxey is taking over the ship in the finest shape that it has ever been during my life’s history. The infrastructure is new and shiny, some initiatives have only recently started like the Maritime Academy that are coming into bloom and merely await his retouching to ensure that they align with the commander’s intent. The force’s compliment is robust, its men have continuous training evolutions being conducted and its social foot placement is in a better condition than I have ever seen it. The morale seems to be at a reasonable level and as such, the force’s readiness from where I sit appears to be at an above average level. Commodore Moxey could always suggest that he wished he was handed a bit more, but truth be told he is getting the ship in a better state than any other Commander that I have ever witnessed and in my view, considerably better than the last two commanders that were caught up in such a circus of emotions, that they received the reigns from a person that had already abandoned the ship and appeared in their church clothes to hand over the instruments; again I perish the thought.
Commodore Moxey will take over as commander from a commander who I have every reason to believe will be dressed as Commander Defence Force at that time. That single accomplishment, makes Commodore Moxey’s first day in office a lot less contentious, less eerie and gives the exchange a lesser feeling of gloom and impending doom. For what it is worth, Commodore King has been a faithful steward in my view, who used both his brain and brawn during his tenure. He demonstrated his commitment to a holistic wellness approach and appointed a medical doctor, a trained mental doctor and has worked remarkably with his dynamic chaplain, for what I considered, the least scandal ridden era of the force, of officers finding themselves in problems in the civilian world that would bring disrepute to the organization. Commodore King has so sufficiently cleared the promotion back log, that the new commander literally doesn’t have to worry about a mass promotion exercise for at least two more years. To be frank, all of the promotions for the next two years should only affect Marine Seaman to AB and possibly Able Seaman to Leading, with the remainder of his promotion decisions being field promotions similar to the one Marcus Evans got as the need arises to fill gaps in management and leadership that were missed in the herd promotions of Commodore King.
To those who ponder about Commodore King’s transgressions as commander, I humbly offer this. Commodore King will go down in history as one of the Force’s better commanders. His tenure will be seen as transformative and awe-inspiring. His initiatives while unorthodox now in some instances; like the formation of a junior enlisted mess, will be seen as pioneering in the years ahead. His commitment to academics and training will be noted as unparalleled and his operational success will likely be deemed unmatched when discussed against those who preceded him. Regrettably, some people will also attempt to suggest that his time as commodore will be marked as an era of nepotism and cronyism. To that claim I say, welcome to the Bahamas. I will also say that during my research of that claim, largely what I have found is that those who claim to have found displeasure with that practice, are simply displeased because it ran out right before it got to them. Those that claim he is a crony lover, do not oppose cronyism or the love of it. Instead, they loathe the idea that despite their best brown nosing attempts, it appeared that the gravy-train somehow kept running out of gravy right before it could reach them; therefore, I take that appraisal of Commodore King with a grain of salt and offer as a counter position, that If he did have a transgression it certainly couldn’t be that.
Conversely, one very visible thorn or thing that was glaringly causing frustrations on the ship, that I feel negatively affected his tenure, was his inability to display the agility necessary to manage the ambitions of the one woman he loves. But was that really it? Or was it familiarity? Were his failings solely resulting from the appearance that he couldn’t dress her back or was it because, we knew the woman too well and her ambition became difficult for those of us with tenure to digest due to our knowledge of her? Arguably, time will have to vindicate him. I guess he made the right choice somewhat however, because after he has taken the final salute and his security detail tucks him into the convoy on May 7th 2025, the only thing he will be allowed to leave with, is the woman he loves and I wish him well with their future endeavors.
My fear if any for the new command as he mounts the podium is that he has spent considerable time self-actualizing. He has focused heavily on self-improving and self-empowerment through education, which are all fantastic things in the civilian world. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, it appears a popular trait for all of the commanders that I have ever witnessed from Davy Rolle to now, to have populated a team of loyalist over the course of their careers. They all had a group of men that protect their command and its interest no matter what. Sadly, I am not certain Commodore Moxey has had that opportunity and therefore, I fear that during his expected short tenure, a cascade of slackers, draft dodgers, boot lickers, lollygaggers, dawdlers and brass polishers will all hurry to try and gain proximity in any way possible. I suspect that from day one they shall cry on the ear of the new commander and lament their ill treatment at the hands of Commodore King. They will tap dance and play jester to gain his attention, or in an effort to get the new commander to stop, review and even cancel some projects that may lead to a tenure of disruptive change, which will ultimately stain his legacy. Hopefully, his command warrant is sharp enough to fan those persons away, but also crafty enough to monitor who those persons are so that spot checks can be made to ensure they aren’t cutting holes into the ship. Hopefully, because he is married to a stranger, he will also not have to manage what his predecessor did, but to Mrs. King’s credit, she has actually created a new social dynamic for all who will come behind her to adopt and make theirs. I am optimistic, that Mrs. Moxey will possibly consider the role of spouse of the commander and its social outreach impacts. I trust, she will use her proximity to the commander to create relationships in all of the out islands where his men are deployed and among the spouses of other agency leaders. I pray she understands early, that commanders, command and spouses support, therefore she is permitted to do anything without resentment except for attempt to command the commander’s men.
Well, we are entering the second half of 2025 with a new commander at the helm and I am pleased with Doctor King and his performance albeit he admittedly was not my first choice. In fact, if I had to grade his tenure I would give it an 88 percent offering only the critique, that had he learned sooner, how to create more delicate balances and how to unravel his emotions more smoothly, I suspect he easily could have scored a 99 percent in my mind, with the 1 percent solely accounting for the margin of error. King has led the force pass the doldrums and despair of the two men that immediately preceded him and who I refer to as the Coat Suit Brigade and now Moxey is taking the reigns with the ship squarely in safe Harbour and he needs only to bring her alongside safely.
Strangely, I am anxiously awaiting Commodore Moxey and pledge here publicly my absolute support of the new commander and make a simultaneous proclamation and prayer to both God and then the Commander.
God save the new Commander but Commander; for God’s sake Sir, please NO CRASHES!
Three cheers for His Majesty’s Commander of the Defence Force.!
