As current Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Patrick West prepares for leave ahead of his retirement next March, the choice for his replacement will be chosen by the elected president of the March 2nd general and regional elections who will also be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
West, 54, will turn 55 on the 5th of March, 2021 and will retire from office after serving for four years.
While it is the President and Commander-in-Chief’s sole duty of selecting whom he wishes to serve in the capacity of Chief of Staff, it is expected that most senior officer will be chosen but the choice over the years has been shaped by the leaders on various criteria.
In 1979, Norman McLean was appointed GDF Chief of Staff after then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham bypassed others in the army’s hierarchy.
In 1986, then President Desmond Hoyte overlooked Brigadier David Granger, now President, and appointed Major General Joseph Singh as army Chief of Staff.
Granger had instead been appointed as National Security Adviser until he retired from military service and many observers believe that it is for this reason that he has allowed seniority to guide his past two choices of Chief of Staff.
West’s predecessor was Brigadier George Lewis, who currently serves as the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer.
Lewis was appointed by Granger following the retirement of now People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) prime ministerial candidate Brigadier Mark Phillips, who was appointed by former President Donald Ramotar.
Phillips had taken over from current APNU+AFC party member Rear Admiral Gary Best. Best had been appointed by then president Bharrat Jagdeo.
This newspaper was told that there are currently five senior colonels in the GDF who all have similar seniority and qualifications. They are Colonels Trevor Bowman, Rawle Jerrick, Gary Beaton, Godfrey Best and Sherwin Anderson.
