page_title: Royal Bermuda Regiment
section_title: Commanding officers
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Bermuda Regiment / Commanding officers
caption_attribution_description: Members of 2 Platoon, A Company, and The Bermuda Regiment, on exercise in the Blue Mountains, in 1996. The Platoon Commander, Lieut. William White (second from left), was subsequently the Commanding Officer (CO) of the Bermuda Regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
context_page_description: The Royal Bermuda Regiment, formerly the Bermuda Regiment, is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the mostly black Bermuda Militia Artillery and the almost entirely white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps.
context_section_description: The commanding officer of the Bermuda Regiment (as also the quartermaster, training officer, the staff officer (UK Loan Service), the adjutant, the aide-de-camp, and the regimental sergeant major) is a full-time position, requiring those appointed to the role to take leave of their civilian employments. Originally, there was a four-year limit to the term of a commanding officer, which could be extended if required. Following Lieutenant-Colonel Gavin A. Shorto's six years in the office, a three-year appointment was made the norm. The commanding officer is normally chosen from amongst the majors of the Battalion, and is promoted to lieutenant-colonel. Following the tragic death of Major Christian Wheddon in a motor accident in England in 2012, while training in preparation for assuming command, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Foster-Brown, a professional soldier from The Rifles, assumed command in June, 2013, the first non-Bermudian to fill the role. Lieutenant-Colonel Foster-Brown was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel David Curley on 27 February 2016. The Governor, HE Mr John Rankin CMG, announced on 7 February 2020 that Major Ben Beasley has been selected as the next Commanding Officer of the Royal Bermuda Regiment, succeeding Lieutenant-Colonel David Curley, he will be promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and take up his post in March 2020.
caption: Lieutenant-Colonel (then-Lieutenant) William White in Jamaica, 1996.
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