Lieutenant Colonel Alvin Ryan, head of Royal Montserrat Defence Force (RMDF) has received a British Empire Medal.
The brief ceremony and reception took place on Thursday, November 28 at Government House. The Lieutenant Colonel was presented with the medal by Governor Sarah Tucker.
Earlier this year, Lt Col Ryan made His Majesty the King’s Birthday Honours List for his services to Disaster Management and the RMDF.
The British Empire Medal is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters “BEM” with special privileges to use St Paul’s Cathedral for funerals, baptisms and weddings.
Before presenting Lt Col Ryan with the medal, Governor Tucker gave a brief speech, highlighting the numerous achievements, leadership and commitment demonstrated by Lt Col Ryan throughout his career. Amongst the several examples given, the governor noted Lt Col Ryan’s role in the search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the volcanic eruptions in the 1990s. The governor also shared that Lt Col Ryan was the first officer of the force to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and highlighted his role at the Coronation of The King
Charles III in London.
“Leadership is about integrity, resilience, courage and humility. It’s about creating a vision: an idea that other people buy in to and that engenders support and loyalty. In the relatively short time I have known and worked with Alvin,
he has demonstrated many of the key strengths of leadership, he breathes commitment and reliability, and we are very lucky to have him,” the governor stated.
Governor Tucker also publicly thanked Lt Col Ryan for his support and friendship to her as governor.
The honouree thanked the governor, and her team for organising the event and expressed his gratitude for the recognition. Recalling two pivotal moments of his journey, Lt Col Ryan spoke about his role as an adult cadet during the volcanic crisis, working with the RMDF to safeguard the community of Montserrat, and his leadership role at the Coronation of His Majesty the King, where he represented the RMDF and Montserrat.
“On my journey thus far, I have not been walking alone. I would like to recognise the support of my family and extended family, friends, my presently serving troops, past members of the RMDF and Cadet Corps and the community at large,” Lt. Col Ryan stated. “The British Empire Medal is awarded for meritorious services and having received this award; it gives me joy and a sense of pride knowing that I was able to accomplish that.”
