Retired officer provides RBDF with “much-needed” bosun whistles

Retired officer provides RBDF with “much-needed” bosun whistles
Royal Bahamas Defence Force Officers (FILE PHOTO)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Retired Chief Petty Officer Garnet Beneby, owner of Island Marine Electronics, recently presented Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Raymond King with approximately 30 bosun whistles to be utilized by members of the force.

A 30-year veteran, Beneby retired from the RBDF in 2007. A small business owner who operates from his home, he said it was a privilege to give back to an organization that he is proud to have served.

“I was browsing through a catalog when I saw the pipes, and I remember these little equipment were something the defence force definitely could use”, he said.

“With the current pandemic we are in, it is difficult to pass it on to another individual, so I thought it a good idea for each department to have its own pipe.”

The RBDF in a statement explained that the equipment, also known as a “boatswain’s call”, is used “to pass commands to the crew ashore and at sea”.

“In the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, it is also used in ceremonial occasions such as Evening Colors/Sunset, the departure or arrival of a patrol craft and to alert the arrival of a ship’s commanding officer onboard,” it noted.

The donation was made during a presentation at Defence Force Headquarters, during which King expressed his thanks for the “much-needed equipment” and assured Beneby the “small gesture will go a long way in maintaining a force capable of guarding the territorial waters of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas”.

The equipment will aid in the RBDF’s “strategic objective of developing a professional and high-performance workforce focused on performance excellence”, the force stated.