In 2004, Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) CLARKE joined the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to become a Commissioned Officer. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst United Kingdom and was commissioned into the JDF as a second lieutenant. He completed his Engineers Troop Commander’s training at the Royal School of Military Engineering UK and the
US Army Engineers Captains’ Career Course in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He served majority of his military career in 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) employed in several capacities to include Troop Commander, Adjutant, Officer Commanding and Acting
Second in Command of the Regiment. He served as the Deputy Director and Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Caribbean Disaster Response Unit (CDRU) and was the Officer in charge the JDF Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) from 2014 to 2017. He was appointed Second in Command (Bn 2ic) in the Second
Battalion the Jamaica Regiment (Infantry Battalion) and as Acting Commanding Officer Combat Support Battalion (Light Mechanised Infantry Battalion). He served as Staff Officer and ADC to the Chief of Defence Staff. In 2009 he deployed to Afghanistan with the Canadian Armed Forces Engineers as part of an agreement between the two Forces. Most rewarding of the experience was commanding Canadian troops and most importantly, earning their trust and respect. He has been on several HADR deployments throughout the Caribbean, primarily Haiti in 2010 (earthquake) and Dominica in 2017 (Hurricane Maria). He was contingent commander for the latter. He was awarded the Medal of Honour for General Service for both local and overseas
operations, the South East Asia Campaign Star and the Commendation Medal for Excellence. He holds a Bachelor of Education (BEd) in Industrial Technologies from the University of Technology, Master of Science (MSc) in National Security and Strategic Studies from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica and a Master of Operational Studies (MOS) from the United States Army General and Command Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He is an avid sports fan and is married to Nadine Tarawli. Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) CLARKE is now the Commanding Officer for the FirstBattalion, the Jamaica Regiment. (1JR)