Making history, defending future: Celebrating the JDF’s first woman chief of defence staff
Published:Wednesday | February 9, 2022 | 12:05 AM
In September 2021, Jamaicans were greeted with the news that the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) would have its first woman chief of defence staff in the form of Commodore Antonette Wemyss Gorman. Amid the New Year’s celebrations, some awaited her formal installation in January 2022 with great anticipation, as she represents one of two female heads of armies in the world (second to Slovenia). Commodore Wemyss Gorman should be heartily congratulated for this stellar feat. Like her, all 11 (male) persons who have previously achieved this dizzying height in the JDF have been decorated members of the military who have dedicated their professional lives to protecting the integrity of Jamaica’s land, sea and airspace. Wemyss Gorman continues in the tradition of highly qualified, rigorously trained persons who have headed the noble institution. As I indicated in ‘Jamaican Women of Distinction: Holding Up more than Half the Sky’, commissioned and published in 2020 by the RJRGLEANER Communications Group, Antonette Wemyss Gorman is Jamaica’s first seagoing female officer in the Jamaica Defence Force; first female captain, first female to command a unit in the JDF, and the first female officer to attain a flag rank (a naval officer above the rank of captain who is entitled to display a flag on a vessel at sea indicating his or her rank).
Wemyss Gorman joined the force in 1992 at the age of 19, and she was one of only two persons who passed the selection process out of 34 applicants. Working off the examples of various strong women in her life, including her mother and grandmother, who both taught her that she could be anything she wanted to be, Wemyss Gorman was determined to change women’s representation within the defence force – for herself and other women. It was not long before her determination to serve at the JDF Coast Guard was recognised, and she was afforded the opportunity to undergo basic naval officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom. In 1994, Wemyss Gorman became commissioned in the JDF as its first seagoing female officer, and in 2002 became the commanding officer of the cutter Belmont Point, an 82ft patrol boat. It was this achievement that established her in the history books as the first female to command a military ship in the Caribbean.
Apart from her barrier-breaking roles, Wemys Gorman has also held a number of shore appointments, including diving officer, operations officer and officer commanding shore base. She was also the second in command of the JDF Airwing from 2009 to 2012. Promoted to her current rank in December 2019, Wemyss Gorman assumed the post of force executive officer, providing force development guidance in support of the transformation vision of the then chief of defence staff. Wemyss Gorman led the Force Strategic Defence Review, which charts the course of the force up to 2037. She oversees policies and all the staff branches within the Division Headquarters. During her career, Wemyss Gorman pursued an MSc in National Security and Strategic Studies at The University of the West Indies, and she oversaw the establishment of the Caribbean Military Maritime Training Centre, which began functioning in 2012. She was appointed acting commanding officer of the JDF Coast Guard in 2013, and in 2018 she became the first woman regionally to be promoted to the rank of naval captain (colonel). For her service to Jamaica, Wemyss Gorman was awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) in 2019. She also received the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service in 2006, and in 2012 she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Wemyss Gorman is a justice of the peace for the parish of Kingston, as well as a mother and a wife. As long as this list may seem, it is but a snippet of her incredible track record.
Wemyss Gorman’s appointment as chief of defence staff signals a distinct shift in the trajectory of the national military, one which is as timely as it is late in coming. Her ascension, based on her integrity, hard work and perseverance, is also grounded in the JDF taking a deliberate (and undoubtedly painful) look at its hiring practices and policies, particularly under the leadership of outgoing chief of defence staff, Lieutenant General Rocky Meade. During his tenure, concrete steps were taken to address deeply rooted barriers to women’s promotion despite being as, or even more qualified than, their male counterparts. He has been noted as saying that the ultimate aim of the army is to create a force in which there will be no reference to quota. The JDF should be commended for its gender-mainstreaming work (including implementing a sexual harassment policy since 2018), appointment of gender-focal point persons, and ongoing gender training of rank-and-file members. There is still more work to be done, but these and other initiatives have coalesced into this groundbreaking occurrence of a highly qualified woman being selected as the right person for a historically male-dominated role.
Wemyss Gorman’s appointment and leadership will challenge the taken-for-granted view that military work is the exclusive purview of men. For any doubting Thomases who may opine that this move is a step in a scary direction, let me attempt to calm your fears. Women have been integral to the global military complex from as early as historical records are available. They were largely excluded from military ranks because of gender biases and deeply entrenched sexist traditions to protect women from harm, and also preserve the military as a bastion of masculinity. Even when militaries changed their policies and more women found their way into armies, narratives of such service tended to portray women as rare mythical exceptions to the male-only rule. While exceptional, women such as Wemyss Gorman are certainly not the exception. Dahomey Amazons, from the African people the Fon, were an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey which acted as the king’s personal guard. Women were active in the Cuban revolution, composed of over 15 per cent of the Rebel Army fighters and taking a number of key leadership positions. Russia, famous for its inclusion of women in the military, had over 800,000 women as part of the armed forces during World War II. In 2018, Slovenia became the first and only NATO country to appoint a woman, Major General Alenka Ermencas, as head of its army. In May 2021, President of the United States, Joe Biden, nominated two women generals to lead military commands. US Air Force General Jacqueline Van Ovost, the only active-duty woman to currently hold the rank of four-star general – the military’s highest – was nominated to head Transportation Command. Three-star Army General Laura Richardson was nominated to lead Southern Command, which covers Central and Latin America. Closer to home, Jamaican women in the military tradition of Nanny of the Maroons were active participants in World War I, served as soldiers during World War II, and currently make up over 20 per cent of the JDF. This is just the tip of the iceberg; the examples of women’s contributions to militaries are numerous and growing daily.
It is said in some feminist circles that the future is female. Certainly, the future of the military need not be ‘female-only’, and women’s increased involvement does not preclude male participation. Men will, and must, continue to make important contributions to national defence, security, and remain fundamental to the project of nation- building. However, the future is certainly brighter for all when one’s sex matters no more than skin or eye colour in terms of the promotion to leadership roles. The future will undoubtedly be improved when young girls and boys see themselves represented in various roles in society. The future is absolutely safer when those who are the most competent are charged with safeguarding it. The foreseeable future of the JDF is secure in the hands of Commodore Antonette Wemyss Gorman. I join with those who wish her well, and I am sure the best is yet to come.
Dalea Bean, PhD
Lecturer – Institute for Gender and Development Studies
Regional Coordinating Office