Commander of the Defence Force (Belize)

Commander of the Belize Defence Force
Incumbent Brigader General Azariel Loria since 21 January 2022
Belize Defence Force
Reports to	Minister of National Defence
Appointer	Governor-General
Formation	January 1978;47 years ago (January 1978)
First holder	Lieutenant colonel Brain W. Ayres
Deputy	Deputy Commander of the Belize Defence Force
Website	https://www.bdf.mil.bz

The Commander of the Defence Force is the professional head of the Belize Defence Force. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Belize Defence Force.

List of Chiefs

No.	Portrait	Commander of the Defence Force	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Ayres, Brain Lieutenant colonel Brain W. Ayres	1978	1980	1–2 years	[1]
2		London, GrahamLieutenant colonel Graham London	1980	1982	1–2 years	[1]
3		Galloway, ChristopherLieutenant colonel Christopher C. Galloway	1982	1984	1–2 years	[1]
4		Smith, StarmerLieutenant colonel Starmer Smith	1984	1986	1–2 years	[1]
5		Veitch, TLieutenant colonel TDA Veitch	1986	1988	1–2 years	[1]
6		David, RomellyLieutenant colonel Romelly David	1988	1990	1–2 years	[1]
7		Usher, Allan Brigadier general Alan Usher	June 1990	1995	4–5 years	[1]
8		Arthurs, EarlBrigadier general Earl Arthurs	1995	1997	1–2 years	[1]
9		Garcia, RobertBrigadier general Robert Garcia	1997	17 November 2000	2–3 years	[1] [2]
10		Borland, CedricBrigadier general Cedric Borland	17 November 2000	31 January 2005	4 years, 75 days	[1] [2] [3]
11		Gillett, LloydBrigadier general Lloyd Gillett	31 January 2005	30 May 2008	3 years, 120 days	[3] [4]
12		Tapia, DarioBrigadier general Dario Tapia	30 May 2008	1 February 2013	4 years, 247 days	[1] [4] [5]
13		Jones, DavidBrigadier general David Nejemiah Jones	1 February 2013	26 January 2018	4 years, 359 days	[5] [6]
14		Ortega, StevenBrigadier general Steven Ortega	26 January 2018	21 January 2022	3 years, 360 days	[1]
15		Loria, AzarielBrigadier general Azariel Loria	21 January 2022	Incumbent	3 years, 46 days	[7]

References

1. "Home Page". bdf.mil.bz. Belize Defence Force. 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
2. Sanchez, Jose (17 November 2000). "BDF changes command". edition.channel5belize.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
3. Griffith, Kendra (31 January 2005). "The BDF's New Commandant". 7newsbelize.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
4. Vasquez, Jules (30 May 2008). "Changing of the Guard at Price Barracks". 7newsbelize.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
5. Rudon, Mike (1 February 2013). "Brigadier General David Jones now in charge of B.D.F." edition.channel5belize.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
6. Saad, Fatmeh (October 22, 2015). "Belize Defence Force leaders visit Camp Lejeune". II Marine Expeditionary Force. II Marine Expeditionary Force. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
7. Moody, Duane (21 January 2022). "Brigadier General Azariel Loria Takes Command". theworldnews.net. News Five. Retrieved 26 January 2022.