Royal Bahamas Defence Force The Royal Bahamas Defence Force ( RBDF ) is the navy of The Bahamas . Since The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force , its navy composes the entirety of its armed forces . Under The Defence Act , the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has been mandated to defend The Bahamas , protect its territorial integrity , patrol its waters , provide assistance in times of disaster , maintain order in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies of The Bahamas , and carry out any such duties as determined by the National Security Council . The Defence Force is also a member of Caricom ' s Regional Security Task Force . The task force has seen action in the United Nations mandate in Haiti 1994 . The Force . The RBDF is strictly a naval force , and therefore differs from the rest of its Caribbean counterparts . With about 1 , 000 members , it is the largest of the Commonwealth Caribbean navies . Several changes in equipment have been seen in the history of the RBDF . In the beginning , the British uniform was worn by RBDF personnel ; now U . S . woodland camouflage is worn ( as opposed to the U . S . Army universal camouflage worn by The Royal Bahamas Police Force Drug Enforcement Unit ) . The first weapons used were the Sterling submachine gun and the L1A1 SLR ; now the American M4 rifle and the Heckler & Koch UMP submachine gun are employed for duty . Unlike other British Commonwealth Land Forces , there are no regular infantry brigades . Instead , there are special forces . These are the Special Operations Unit , which is the seagoing section associated with all ships and small craft , and the Commando Squadron , which acts as an amphibious infantry unit and also performs security duties . The Commando Squadron is a sizeable force of at least 500 Special Marine Commandos . Training is conducted with the U . S . Navy SEALs in special naval warfare and also with the British Royal Marines . A common training practice is to have a marine recruit conduct a two - mile swim carrying a forty - pound rucksack . The M101 105 mm Howitzer towed artillery is also employed in RBDF service . Ships . The main ships in the force are two " Bahamas " - class offshore patrol vessel s , and three smaller " Protector " - class OPVs . Most of the missions consist of anti - poaching patrols , anti - drug patrols , immigration enforcement , search and rescue , or general National Defence missions . During the month of April 2013 , The Government of the Bahamas signed a letter of intent to acquire nine new vessels from the Damen Shipyards Group . This will be a mixture of long and short range patrol craft . Structure . There are two career tracks in the RBDF : Marine ( rating ) & Officer . The enlisted personnel ranks range from Marine to Force Chief Petty Officer . The Officer ranks range from Midshipman to Commodore . The force is organized and trained along the lines of the British Royal Navy and many of the officers attend British service academies . The Headquarters of the Defence Force are at RBDF Base HMBS Coral Harbour , on New Providence Island . The commander officer , known as " Commander Defence Force " is Commodore Roderick Bowe , who relieved Commodore Clifford ' Butch ' Scavella on the 21 of January , 2010 . Additional bases are located in Matthew Town , Inagua and Freeport , Grand Bahama . The RBDF uses the British Royal Navy style of rank insignia , and all ships carry the title HMBS ( Her Majesty ’ s Bahamian Ship ) . Due of the lack of ships , most RBDF members do not spend time at sea , and are used for other military or non - military roles . Peacekeeping missions have been conducted with the participation of RBDF members in El Salvador and Haiti . Air Wing . The RBDF operates three aircraft ; a Super King Air 350 , Cessna 208 B and the Partenavia P . 68 Observer . The aircraft are used chiefly for reconnaissance and maritime patrol . They also provide surveillance of large areas and aid in the strategic deployment of surface crafts . Call for an overhaul of the RBDF . During a radio interview on the Bahamas radio station Love 97 " Issues of the Day " show on 5 December 2006 , the RBDF commander stated that there were only two patrol boats operational and there is only one plane in service , but no pilot trained to fly the aircraft . He also stated that up to 25 % of the ranks of the Defence Force are ' bad apples ' and need to be weeded out . The commander also stated that there are many programs being studied set to improve the Defence Force ' s capacity to provide security for Bahamian territorial waters . The future revitalization of the RBDF will include the provision of additional aircraft , increased manpower & salaries , base facilities and command outposts . In the early summer of 2008 , these overhauls had begun . The RBDF has also reduced numbers by a third in order to remove undesirable personnel from the military ranks . Service vehicles and patrol boats are in more regular use and both illegal immigrant seizures and illegal drug seizures have increased proportionately to the revamped force finally being used . One of the major seizures was undertaken by boat P - 48 . Roughly 692 kilogram sized bales of marijuana were taken off a " go - fast " boat ( a light offshore racing boat ) with a local street value of roughly 750 , 000 USD and a Miami street value at well over 1 . 3 million USD . History . By an Act of Parliament , the RBDF became an official entity on 31 March 1980 , falling under the Ministry of National Security . The Queen of The Bahamas , Queen Elizabeth II , is Commander - in - Chief of the Defence Force with her ceremonial role exercised by the Governor General of the Bahamas . The Defence Force also has adopted its own system of medals and awards . The only combat action the RBDF has ever been involved with has been against Cuba . On 10 May 1980 , the HMBS " Flamingo " attempted to arrest two Cuban fishing vessels , the " Ferrocem 165 " and the " Ferrocem 54 " , for poaching in Bahamian waters . In retaliation , two Cuban MiG - 21 s invaded Bahamas airspace and fired on the patrol boat . The Cubans sank the ship with their 23 mm cannons , and fired upon Marines in distress in the water . Fenrick Sturrup , Austin Smith , David Tucker and Edward Williams , all Bahamian Defence Force Marines , were killed in the attack . Fifteen crewmen and the Commander made it safely to Duncan Town , on Ragged Island , after being picked up by the fishing vessels they had boarded . The poachers were convicted in July 1980 , and Cuba eventually admitted responsibility , paying the Bahamas $ 10 million in compensation for the incident .