Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams (left), greets National President, Boys’ Brigade, Captain Sydney England, during the organisation’s Annual Founder’s Day Service at East Queen Street Baptist Church in Kingston on Sunday (October 23).

Improvement is expected in cadastral mapping and land registration with the procurement of equipment valued at approximately U$100,000, donated by the Government of the Republic of Korea, through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KIOCA).

The items were handed over on Thursday (July 16) at the National Land Agency Estate Management Division, downtown, Kingston. They include three Leica TS07 total stations and tripod; three Leica CS20 field controllers; one Leica Viva GS16 GNSS RTK base and rover; a prism as well as other accessories.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Leslie Campbell, said the equipment comes at a time when cadastral mapping and land-titling is a major focus of the Government as part of the economic growth thrust.

“This equipment represents a much needed injection of new technology in land surveying in Jamaica. It will take cadastral mapping at the NLA to new levels, generating improved efficiency in land surveying and land registration activities,” he said.

Mr. Campbell expressed appreciation for the support of the Government of the Republic of Korea. “We look forward to continued cooperation between our countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Lim Baejin, said the equipment will facilitate post-project management support for the registration of lands in Jamaica.

“This is a demonstration of true commitment by Korea and Jamaica to improve the lives of Jamaican people through projects that make a difference. It is my hope that the equipment will help more Jamaicans own land,” he said.

For her part, Chief Executive Officer, NLA, Elizabeth Stair, thanked the Government of the Republic of Korea for the grant, which made the procurement of the equipment possible at a time when there is increased focus on registering lands.

“The surveying process plays an important part in achieving this endeavour. This generous donation of the Republic of Korea, made possible through its Embassy, will go a very long way in boosting the agency’s capacity to map more parcels of land at a rapid rate in support of land registration,” the CEO said.

Mrs. Stair noted that the equipment will also be used in other activities undertaken by the agency.

“These will be used in the establishment of ground controls by the Agency’s Geodesists, as well as it will complement aerial mapping activities which utilise unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These are integral to cadastral mapping and provide the spatial element of a registered title,” she added.

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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.

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.

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.

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.