SVGCG bids farewell to Commander Cain

COMMANDER BRENTON CAIN of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard has given his final salute to the institution that he loved and led for 15 years.

Yesterday,Thursday July 21 marked the end of an era, as farewell was bid to Cain, the longest serving coast guard commander in the history of St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard, and also the longest serving gazetted officer in the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

COMMANDER BRENTON CAIN (left) receiving his award from Deputy Commissioner of Police Frankie Joseph

At a ceremony held yesterday at the Coast Guard Base at Calliaqua, Deputy Commissioner of Police Frankie Joseph said Cain enlisted in the police service on February 2, 1986, and from that date to the present time, all his years were spent in the Coast Guard.

“This means that he is intimately aware and supremely knowledgeable about the workings, operations and function of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard,” Joseph said.

“Today, he is making the final voyage into the sunset of life,” the Deputy Commissioner said.

Lauding the exemplary leadership of Commander Cain, the Deputy Commissioner said: “These achievements are unparalleled and should be commended highly. It is not an easy task to manage multimillion dollar assets like the Coast Guard vessels without incidents of negligent failure. To the best of my recollection, he has been very astute and responsible

in taking care of government property. St Vincent and the Grenadines owes a debt of gratitude to Commander Cain. He has served this country and the coast guard for over 36 years with distinction.

“One of the things that impressed me most about Commander Cain, was how he mentored and tutored his senior management team, and prepared them for this moment of transition. At the Coast Guard, it is without any degree of uncertainty that he is leaving the Coast Guard in capable hands.That to me is one of the greatest principles of leadership. It is said that great leaders create new leaders and Commander Cain did just that.”

Cain was born in Barrouallie and enlisted in the RSVGPF after a four-year stint of teaching, six years after the formation of the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard.

He underwent extensive training in navigation and seamanship and other aspects of maritime education through local, regional, and international courses, including the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter College, the Regional Security System, and in Panama.

“His ocean of experience” includes serving as an instructor at the Regional Security System Training Unit, instructor at Trade Winds, secondment as chief instructor to the Regional Security System training unit in Antigua for two years, Summer Program Coordinator, Operations Officer of the Coast Guard for three years, commanding officer of the 75-footer Coast Guard Cutter, Commanding Officer of the 120-footer Coast Guard, second-in-charge of Port Security, and a designated authority for port security in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

ALWAYS ONE FOR a joke, Commander Brenton Cain shares a light-hearted moment with the men and women that he commanded for 15 years

Commander Cain got his first promotion in 1990 to the rank of leading seaman, then from leading seaman to petty officer in 1994. From Petty Officer to Chief Petty Officer in 1998, from Chief Petty Officer to sub-Lieutenant in 2002, then from sub-Lieutenant to Lieutenant in 2005.

He was then promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 2006 and as Coast Guard Commander in 2014, after acting for over seven years from 2007 to 2014.With no formal police training, Commander Brenton Cain rose through the ranks of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard, and was the commander till he retired on July 21, 2022.

[Updated at 11:57am on Saturday, July 23, 2022 to change Commander Brenton Cain’s surname from  Caine to Cain]