7 News Belize

Welcome, General Ortega
posted (January 26, 2018)
And moving on past all that BDF bad news…

The Force officially has a new commander tonight. 5 weeks ago, at the BDF's annual Christmas Lunch, Defence Minister John Saldivar announced that the transition would take place: Col. Steven Ortega would take over from Brigadier General David Jones, who is now retired.

Well, Col. Steven Ortega is now Brigadier General Ortega, and he formally received command of the military at the official ceremonies to celebrate the BDF's 40th anniversary.

We got a chance to speak with both Ortega and the Defense Minister about the transition in leadership. Here's what they had to say:

Hon. John Saldivar - Minister of National Security
"I am very happy with the selection of Colonel Ortega now to be General Ortega to lead the BDF and his deputy, Colonel Loria and today at the ceremonies we are going to be happy to be able to see the smooth transition from one general to the other."

Reporter
"How does it feel to be in command?"

Brig. Gen. Steven Ortega - New Commander of The BDF
"It's a blessing and really an honor to be named the 8th Belizean commander of the Belize Defence Force so it's really a blessing and a privilege to be placed in this position. I can see us maintaining the professionalism that we have and improving on what we have. We have a lot more collaboration with our international partners especially with the threat situation with the transnational criminals not only that but if you notice the new phenomenon of the tsunami so natural disasters as you know one of the primary agents for the government in terms of recovery, a search and rescue. Those are some of the duties that i see us starting to implement and trying to improve on what we have so far."

Brigadier General Ortega holds a Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Royal College of Defense Studies in London. He's also the recipient of the BDF's Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, and the BDF's Certificate of Distinguished Service.

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