The Caribbean Military Academy now has a complete academic component with academic staff up to PhD level and offerings that span basic training, undergraduate and graduate degree programmes.
The CMA now allows the JDF to train soldiers and officers at all levels, from Jamaica, the Caribbean and beyond, utilizing international curricula, which are tailored to meet regional specific strategic objectives and those of identified partner militaries and law enforcement agencies from around the globe. This transition marks another stage in the evolution of cohesive regional training delivery: the redesign of the JDF’s wide range of training courses and programmes to meet internationally accepted accreditation standards. However, this technical training lacked the civilian accreditation that would allow alumni to transition into post-military roles; this realization led to the conceptualization of the CMA in 2018, its founding in 2019 and the formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the West Indies which gives the CMA the authority to grant degrees.
The Caribbean Military Academy builds on the strong legacy of the Jamaica Defence Force in providing Professional Military Education (PME) for Jamaica and the Caribbean.
For four decades, the JDF has provided thought leadership, technical training and education through its Schools of Excellence. Established in partnership with the Government of Canada and other regional and international partners, the Schools of Excellence were designed to meet local and regional training requirements. The Schools of Excellence began with the Centre of Excellence in Aviation and the Centre of Excellence in Maritime Training and grew to include centres in Special Tactics and Infantry Training which were managed under the JDF’s Training and Doctrine division.
The Schools of Excellence allowed for more focused training on national and regional issues than attendance at military academies beyond the region facilitated. Their emergence and growth reduced Jamaica’s over-reliance on larger states for training and increased focus on the peculiar problems of small and resource-constrained states.
