KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States Coast Guard Academy has admitted as cadets two members of the Jamaica Defence Force, Shawna Marie Sinclair and Nicholas Folkes.

According to the US Embassy, soon to be Cadet Sinclair and Cadet Folkes will be the first Jamaica Defence Force members to be appointed to the US Coast Guard Academy, and their appointment comes as part of the international cadet program.

The Embassy said only six slots were available for international cadets with Jamaica securing two of those coveted six spots.

As international cadets, Folkes and Sinclair are subject to the same rules, regulations, and pay as US cadets. They will earn a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation and will return to Jamaica to serve in the Jamaica Defence Force as commissioned officers, the Embassy said.

Speaking at the appointment ceremony held June 1 at the US Embassy, Chargé d’Affaires John McIntyre said, “All of Jamaica should be proud that one-third of the international cadets attending the US Coast Guard Academy as part of Class 2025 are Jamaican.”

At the ceremony, Chargé d’Affaires McIntyre presented the official appointment certificates to Sinclair, and Folkes’ mother Elaine Chambers, who accepted the certificate on his behalf as he was unable to attend in person.

Other distinguished guests at the ceremony included Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Senator Matthew Samuda; Commodore Antonette Wemyss-Gorman; Fleet Executive Officer of the Jamaica Defence Force, Brigadier Roderick Williams; Brigade Commander, Maritime, Air and Cyber Command, Brigadier Radgh Mason; President of the Caribbean Military Academy, US Embassy Senior Defence Official Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ramsey, and US Embassy Coast Guard Attaché Lieutenant Commander Jason Hathaway.

Speaking on the US-Jamaican bilateral relationship, Lieutenant Commander Hathaway noted that, “The US Coast Guard and the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard have long enjoyed a close partnership, standing side-by-side in the Caribbean to face transnational criminal organisations conducting crimes upon the high seas and coastal zones. Today, we forge the next chapter in that partnership with these two pioneers of Jamaican sea service.”