The Royal Bahamas Defense Force crew aboard the HMBS Lawrence Major, returned home yesterday from a historic disaster relief and recovery trip.
After over 3,000 miles, the 44 man crew of the HMBS Lawrence major – that’s 23 RBDF officers and marines, two emergency technicians, 12 Defence force technicians , three cooks and four firefighters – have completed their mission to hurricane ravaged Dominica and are back safe in the capital.
The trip, which was the first of its kind in over 20 years lasted 33 days and 32 nights.
The ship which set sail for Dominica on October 20th, was welcomed home with a warm reception at the Coral Harbour base.
During their trip the crew assisted Dominicans in rebuilding the physical damage hurricane Maria left behind.
Commanding officer of the HMBS Lawrence major, lieutenant commander, Milton Munroe said it was an historic and humbling experience.
For the duration of the mission, a total of 6,350 meals were prepared for education and social services personnel and over 3,000 meals were provided for students of 18 schools on the island.
Meals were also given to the community and grocery items were distributed to those in need.
The officers also got the chance to bond with the residents, speaking with them and hearing their stories.
National Security Minister, Marvin Dames lauded the crews efforts stating he was extremely proud of their accomplishments.
“Just watching the HMBS come in this morning was very moving. On behalf of the Ministry of National Security I say to all of you that you’ve made the RBDF, the RBPF, the Prime Minister and the people of the Bahamas very proud,” Dames said.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt described the damage several weeks back, as a mindboggling scene.
Homes were flattened, vegetation was stripped, communication cut off, nearly 30 people killed and so many more displaced.
Dominica’s recovery process is estimated to take several years and cost billions of dollars.
