Anderson is new JDF boss

More than three months after The Gleaner first reported that Brigadier Antony Anderson was poised to take the top job in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), confirmation finally came yesterday from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In a late-evening release, Jamaica House said Anderson is to be promoted to the rank of major general and will replace the retiring Major General Stewart Saunders on October 10.

After 37 years in the army, Saunders had indicated his intention to walk away from the job early this year and gave the Government time to identify his successor.

Saunders will leave the JDF seemingly with the respect of the men and women under his command, as well as the respect of members of the political directorate who were particularly impressed with the operation of the soldiers during the late May incursion in west Kingston.

Anderson, the current deputy chief of defence staff, was awarded the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service in 2002 and membership in the Order of Distinction in 2009.

He is a past student of Calabar High School and the College of Arts, Science and Technology.

Anderson enlisted in the JDF in 1984 and was trained at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England.

The chief of defence staff-designate has served in various positions within the JDF, including infantry platoon commander, regimental signals officer, commanding officer of the supply depot, Air Wing and Engineering Regiment, inspector general and colonel general staff.

He also served as regional operations commander for Caricom's security arrangements for Cricket World Cup in 2007.

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree and a master's degree in defence administration from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.

He has completed specialised courses at the Canadian Forces Staff School, Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College and the United States Command and General Staff College.

After enlisting in the JDF in 1984, Antony Anderson moved quickly through the ranks:

Lieutenant (1985)

Captain (1989)

Major (1996)

Lieutenant colonel (2002)

Colonel (2006)

Brigadier (2010)