Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Radcliffe H Barrett was born in Kingston in June 1965.  He received his primary and secondary education between 1972 and 1982 at the May Pen Primary and Secondary Schools, respectively.

Lt Col Barrett enlisted in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) in February 1983, graduated in July of that year and subsequently served approximately nine (9) years in the Regular Force.

Throughout the period 1983 – 1991, he attained the rank of Corporal and attended several training courses, such as, Potential and Junior Non-Commissioned Cadres, First Aid and Special Operations Forces. He was a part of the JDF contingent which conducted tours of duty in Operation Urgent Fury between 1983 -1986 in Grenada. 

He resigned from the JDF in 1991 and joined the corporate world at the Ports Security Corps (PSC). He furthered his education by attaining certificates in Personnel Administration, Labour Law, Labour Relations, Public Relations and Computer Studies.

At the PSC, he initially held the post of Personnel Supervisor in the Human Resources Department and moved up through the ranks to the post of Security Manager for locations, such as, the Kingston Free Zone, Kingston Sea Ports, Norman Manley International Airport and the Tourist Resort Security Operations in Ocho Rios, St Ann and Port Antonio, Portland; with responsibility for Physical Security. He benefited from training conducted by the United States Treasury Department, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Still feeling the passion and burning desire, he reenlisted in the National Reserve in 1995 and later attained the rank of Sergeant. He conducted several training courses for Senior and Junior Non-Commissioned Officers and Officer Cadets. He completed his Officer training in 2005 and received a Queens Commission and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant in 2006, Lieutenant in 2008, Captain in 2012, Major in 2016 and his current rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2019.

Lt Col Barrett, in his over thirty-four (34) years of combined service, has garnered a wealth of knowledge and experience during his tenure in this noble institution and has represented the JDF in Grenada, United Kingdom, Barbados, Puerto Rico and Canada. He has served in several capacities, for instance, Section Commander, Platoon Sergeant, Training Officer, Officer In Charge of Training, Officer Commanding, Force Hockey Officer, Commanding Officer and Brigade Executive Officer. Additionally, he is the proud recipient of the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service, Medal of Honour for General Service with Clasp “Grenada 1986”, Medal of Honour for General Service with Clasp “Jamaica 2020”, Military Commendation Medal, Medal of Honour for Efficient Service and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Lt Col BARRETT has participated in many high level assignments; most notably, provided security at the State Funeral for the Most Honourable Sir Howard Cook, Governor-General in 2014, the President of the United States, Barack Obama on his visit to Jamaica in April 2015 and acted as Liaison Officer at the 14^th Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) in 2016.

He is also a Private Industry Security Professional and has been employed to the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited (BNSJ) since 1998 in the Corporate Security Department. He currently holds the post of Assistant Manager, Investigation Services for Caribbean Central. In addition to his current capacity, Lt Col Barrett is the department’s trainer and develops and conducts Security Awareness presentations for Scotiabank Group, Jamaica.

Lt Col BARRETT holds a Master of Science Degree in Security & Risk Management from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, a Diploma from the Canadian Forces College (pcsc), Post Graduate Diploma from the Caribbean Maritime University and Career Diploma from Penn Foster College. He also holds designations as a Certified Protection Officer Instructor (CPOI), Certified in Security Supervision & Management (CSSM) and Certified Protection Officer (CPO) from the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO), USA.  He is certified in First Aid and a Trainer of Trainers, volunteers with the Jamaica Red Cross, a member of the Optimist Club and a Justice of the Peace (JP).

He is an avid sportsman who has played a variety of sports, such as, field hockey where he represented Jamaica in 1990 (Mexico) and 1998 (Venezuela) at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. He is also a Federation of International Hockey (FIH) Judge and Technical Official and has officiated games in Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Additionally, he has served as Vice President on the Jamaica Hockey Federation’s Board of Directors and is currently the Head Coach for the Jamaica Defence Force Hockey Team.