Two se­nior mem­bers of the Trinidad and To­ba­go De­fence Force (TTDF), serv­ing in lead­er­ship roles, have re­ceived let­ters of pro­mo­tion and ap­point­ment from Min­is­ter of Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty, Fitzger­ald Hinds. They were pro­mot­ed by the Pres­i­dent.

Group Cap­tain Kem­ba Han­nays was pro­mot­ed from the rank of Wing Com­man­der, and ap­point­ed to the po­si­tion of Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the Trinidad and To­ba­go Air Guard (TTAG), with ef­fect from Jan­u­ary 1, 2023. Group Cap­tain Han­nays’ ap­point­ment is his­toric as she be­comes the first fe­male of­fi­cer to Com­mand a For­ma­tion, the first fe­male Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the TTAG, and the first fe­male of­fi­cer in the his­to­ry of the De­fence Force to at­tain the afore­men­tioned rank. Group Cap­tain Han­nays is the fifth Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the TTAG.

She is a ca­reer of­fi­cer who joined the mil­i­tary over 22 years ago. In 2006, she be­came one of the first Ro­tary Wing pi­lots in the then new­ly es­tab­lished TTAG and has served as Deputy Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the TTAG since No­vem­ber 1, 2013.

Colonel Ke­ston Charles was pro­mot­ed from the rank of Lieu­tenant Colonel, and ap­point­ed to the po­si­tion of Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the Trinidad and To­ba­go Reg­i­ment (TTR), with ef­fect from Jan­u­ary 1, 2023. Colonel Charles has over 22 years’ ser­vice in the Trinidad and To­ba­go De­fence Force. His pre­vi­ous roles in­clud­ed Act­ing Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the TTR, Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer of the First In­fantry Bat­tal­ion as well as the Sec­ond In­fantry Bat­tal­ion. He be­comes one of the youngest per­sons to be ap­point­ed as a For­ma­tion Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer and is the twen­ti­eth Com­mand­ing Of­fi­cer in the his­to­ry of the TTR.