Saluting Ralph Brown

THE AWARD this week of the Chaconia Medal (Gold) to retired Maj Gen Ralph Brown is a long-overdue acknowledgment of the key roles he has played in crucial aspects of this country’s history.

Brown was the commanding officer of the regiment when the events of 1990 took place. He was among those who addressed the nation, reassuring the population that the Defence Force was in no way collaborating with the Islamic insurrectionists. But his role was more than surface deep.

Brown was instrumental in many strategic aspects of the management of the situation, from convincing key figures to play a role in ending the impasse, to securing hostage management expertise. Brown had been taught by the inventor of modern hostage negotiation tactics, Harvey Schlossberg, and was well placed to draw upon that resource. Had he not been in charge, history may have turned out differently.

In the end, all hostages, including prime minister ANR Robinson and those at TTT, were released. While the attack on the capital claimed the lives of at least 24 people, the death toll was substantially limited. This notwithstanding a lack of key resources and incredible challenges in the unprecedented situation.

While his role in the events of 1990 may be better known, Brown has also played a key role in the shaping of our aviation sector. In March 2004, he was appointed chairman of the board of the TT Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), a position he held until 2010. In this capacity, he oversaw the completion of the TT Aviation Safety Oversight System and TT was subsequently upgraded to a category one country by the US Federal Aviation Administration. He also oversaw infrastructure and systems upgrades and positioned the TTCAA to benefit from revenue streams.

“His legacy is placing the TTCAA on a sound financial footing to fund all its operations,” observed retired TTCAA director Ramesh Lutchmedial in a letter to the editor this week. “The TTCAA is perhaps the only state agency that never borrowed money and has a healthy cash reserve to propel it to financial self-sufficiency.”

Brown has also not been afraid to continue to contribute to society in myriad ways, such as by airing his views on key matters of public interest. For instance, he was among those who expressed reservations over a proposal to give soldiers powers of arrest, warning against possible abuses of power and of tensions between the police and the Defence Force, tensions which he himself witnessed in 1990.

He was also a vital witness in the commission of inquiry into the events of that year and many had expressed the view privately that he should have been among the first to be thanked for his service during those fraught days.