Commander of the Defence Force (Belize)

The Commander of the Defence Force (CDS) is the professional head of the Belize Defence Force. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Belize military. It is the highest rank military position in the country.

Commander of the Belize Defence Force
Flag of the Belize Defence Force
Incumbent Brigader general Steven Ortega since 26 January 2018
Ministry of Defence
Reports to	Minister of Defence
Appointer	Governor-General

List of Chiefs

No.		Commander of the Defence Force	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Ayres, BrainLieutenant colonel Brain W. Ayres	1978	1980	1–2 years	[1]
2		London, GrahamLieutenant colonel Graham London	1980	1982	1–2 years	[1]
3		Galloway, ChristopherLieutenant colonel Christopher C. Galloway	1982	1984	1–2 years	[1]
4		Smith, StarmerLieutenant colonel Starmer Smith	1984	1986	1–2 years	[1]
5		Veitch, TLieutenant colonel TDA Veitch	1986	1988	1–2 years	[1]
6		David, RomellyLieutenant colonel Romelly David	1988	1990	1–2 years	[1]
7		Usher, AllanBrigader general Allan Usher	1990	1995	4–5 years	[1]
8		Arthurs, EarlBrigader general Earl Arthurs	1995	1997	1–2 years	[1]
9		Garcia, RobertBrigader general Robert Garcia	1997	2000	2–3 years	[1]
10		Borland, CedricBrigader general Cedric Borland	2000	2005	4–5 years	[1]
11		Gillett, LloydBrigader general Lloyd Gillett	2005	2008	2–3 years	[1]
12		Tapia, DarioBrigader general Dario Tapia	2008	2013	4–5 years	[1]
13		Jones, DavidBrigader general David Nejemiah Jones	2013	26 January 2018	4–5 years	[2]
14		Ortega, StevenBrigader general Steven Ortega	26 January 2018	Incumbent	2 years, 193 days	[1]

References

1. "Home Page". bdf.mil.bz. Belize Defence Force. 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
2. Saad, Fatmeh (October 22, 2015). "Belize Defence Force leaders visit Camp Lejeune". II Marine Expeditionary Force. II Marine Expeditionary Force. Retrieved 5 May 2018.