
No Need to Panic – Health Minister
Despite the recent increase in the positivity rate of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is urging caution against panic. He said persons
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), coronaviruses (CoV) are a family of viruses known to cause respiratory illnesses ranging in severity from the common cold to Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
The virus can be transmitted from animals to humans and between humans by physical contact or through the air.
Symptoms of the virus include acute onset of fever (over 38 degrees Celsius) and flu-like symptoms, including coughing and sneezing, as well as breathing difficulties.
Despite the recent increase in the positivity rate of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is urging caution against panic. He said persons
The Ministry of Health and Wellness notes the decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and transition
Citizens of Westmoreland are being encouraged to take the COVID-19 shot as unvaccinated persons are still being hospitalised with the illness. The advice came from Medical Officer of Health for
Measures being undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines have been bolstered through a donation of Can$70 million. The funds, provided through
Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Hanover, Dr. Kaushal Singh, is imploring residents and visitors to the parish not to drop their guard and to continue to protect themselves against
Jamaica’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been given a major boost through support from the Canadian Government to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Canada’s Minister of International
Jamaica’s monkeypox and COVID-19 infection levels remain low as the Ministry of Health and Wellness continues efforts to curtail the viruses’ spread across the island. Portfolio Minister, Dr the Hon.
The World Bank is reporting that Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies have largely recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and the region “has regained some sense of normalcy”. “Employment levels
The methods of preventing or decreasing the spread of the coronavirus are numerous. The Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) recommends practising good personal hygiene and food safety, and exercising caution while travelling as vital ways to avoid the potentially deadly virus.
Practise Good Personal Hygiene
Practise Food Safety
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INTRODUCTION
Initial Officer Training Programme (IOTP) provides basic military officer training to Officer Cadets (OCdts) and their equivalents from law enforcement and uniformed services. The programme falls within the tactical level of the Professional Military Education (PME) framework of armed forces and is modelled from the Royal Military Academy Sandhursts’ (RMAS) Commissioning Course. It was designed with the direct support and guidance of RMAS Instructing and Support Staff.
Rationale
Traditionally, the Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) longstanding partnerships with militaries across the world has seen its OCdts being trained in academies in the following countries: United States, England, Canada, China and India. Upon the return of OCdts to the JDF, there is a requirement for doctrine and operating procedure standardization due to the varying concepts and differing contents of the training they had undergone. This is normally done at the Unit level and later, through a Young Officers’ Course. The advent of COVID-19 added a new level of complexity to travel, thus negatively affecting the process of sending OCdts overseas. Additionally, the ongoing expansion and restructuring of the Force to cauterize the ballooning threats to national security has caused an increased demand for newly commissioned Second Lieutenants.
Due to the carefully adapted military and academic curricula, IOTP serves as the course to treat with the aforementioned considerations. The methodology used addresses each issue directly and the course, through the delivery of a bespoke training syllabus, is fit for the JDF and is also relevant to the militaries and organizations within the Caribbean region and in other parts of the world.
Concept
Having the RMAS approach to training at its core, IOTP is designed with a syllabus that sees male and female integration throughout training. The course focusses on developing military skills and command with a leadership ‘golden thread’. The course structure allows the Instructing Staff to educate, build, develop and scrutinize an OCdt’s ability to decide and communicate accurately and ethically while under pressure and or stress. The expectation is that on commissioning, an OCdt will be fully cognizant of the responsibilities and personal conditions that being an Officer imposes upon them. The product of the IOTP will be an ethical and robust Officer who has the knowledge, skills, attitudes and intellectual agility to adapt their decision-making process and approach to any environment.
Location
The home of IOTP is the Caribbean Military Academy (CMA) Newcastle, which is located at the Newcastle Hill Station, St Andrew, Jamaica.
Nestled in the cool hills of upper St Andrew and amidst beautiful trees, ferns, ground orchids, delicate wild flowers and a profusion of ginger lilies, is the Newcastle
Training Depot founded in 1841 by Major General Sir William Maynard Gomm (later Field Marshall). Gomm, a veteran of the wars against revolutionary France and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica from 1840 to 1841, relentlessly badgered the War Office in London to establish a mountain station for British soldiers in Jamaica soon after taking up his post.
The idea of the hill station was first raised by Gomm in a letter dated April 7, 1840 to Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe. Gomm pointed out that while Up Park Camp was an ideal location for a barracks, it was subject to the ravages of yellow fever. In Jamaica the
British garrison was stationed on the plain at Up Park Camp, Stony Hill, Fort Augusta and Port Royal. Here, on the average, 1 soldier died every 2½ days. According to Russell, the year 1838 was considered a ‘good’ year: only 91 men died. In 1839, 110 men perished and in the following year 121. Initially, the British government was conservative in approving a hill station for the troops in Jamaica. They were concerned about the expense of the venture.
In May 1841, London finally sanctioned Gomm’s efforts to build what is thought to be the first permanent mountain station in the British West Indies at Newcastle. The site selected was a coffee plantation protruding from the southern face of the grand ridge of the Blue Mountains. The British government paid £4,230 for the Newcastle site.
At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), life at Newcastle changed a little. The British regiment was replaced by Canadian regiments which remained at Newcastle for the duration of the war. With hostilities over in 1945, the Canadians left and once again a British battalion was stationed there.
In 1958, the West Indies Federation was founded and the infantry regiments of the various Caribbean islands were disbanded and reorganized into the West India Regiment. Newcastle became a training depot, training recruits from all over the West Indies as part of the
newly formed West Indies Federation. In 1962 when Federation was disbanded, the West India Regiment was also disbanded. Jamaica simultaneously sought her independence, which was achieved on August 6, 1962. With independence, Newcastle was given to the Jamaican government as part of a general settlement of all military lands in Jamaica.