National

A Look Back at the Career of Commodore Dr. Raymond King

NASSAU, BAHAMAS -There will soon be a change in command for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Davis administration will not renew the contract of the current RBDF Commodore Dr. Raymond King, ending his 38 and a half-year career in the military.

Published

1 year ago

April 25, 2025

Joshua Williams

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – There will soon be a change in command for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Davis administration will not renew the contract of the current RBDF Commodore Dr. Raymond King, ending his 38 and a half-year career in the military.

Commodore King says his contract expired on April 15th and he will demit office next month.

Dr. King enlisted in the RBDF on January 12th, 1987 as a member of new entry 19.

He started out as a midshipman, completed his officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in England in 1990, and received his commission in 1992.

King also served as the port controller before his appointment as commander Defence Force on April 15th, 2020.

Since his appointment Dr. King has been instrumental in pushing the force’s mission forward, specifically a crackdown on illegal immigration with a significant decrease.

Dr. Raymond King – Commodore of RBDF

“We would have experienced a significant decrease of some 650% of migrants actually being at this time. The absolute numbers is 140 verses 1055.”

Despite this accomplishment, there were struggles along the way.

Those 17 migrants who drowned in 2022 are remembered, along with the recent violence in Haiti, causing thousands to flee, a blockade set up in the southern Bahamas.

Dr. Raymond King – Commodore of RBDF

“Collaborate vessel patrols in conjunction with the Turks and Caicos islands we actually have Turks and Caicos persons embedded in our vessels as ship riders as well as working with the United States coast guard.”

Since the beginning, his belief in the necessary resources and technology has been the same.

Dr. Raymond King – Commodore of RBDF

“Decentralization of our operations not only in Inagua and Ragged Island but we’re now considering other family islands to have the Defence Force presence. “Knowing who is our domain at anytime it also extends our range because those drones could be deployed from vessels as well as land and it can give us at least 100 plus nautical miles”