WASHINGTON, D.C., June 27, 2024 — Senior Commander Derrick Ferguson, who has served in the Royal Bahamas Defense Force for more than 30 years, graduated from the Inter-American Defense College (IADC) at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Army Post in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. He was awarded the Master of Science In Inter-American Defense and Security with distinction.
Yesterday, Commander Ferguson paid a courtesy call on His Excellency Wendall Jones, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, at in the Embassy of The Bahamas in Washington D.C. and presented the Ambassador with the insignia of HMBS Bahamas
The IADC Master’s program in Defense and Security is designed for senior defense, security, and diplomatic professionals from the Americas in preparation to serve as Senior Defense and Security Advisors for Strategic Leaders in governments. The program was delivered in four languages – Portuguese, French, Spanish, and English – and was the 63rd Class of IADC, consisting of 62 students representing 18 countries in The Americas.
The IADC Master’s program is a one-year academic course consisting of Hemispheric Defense & Security Workshop, Forecasting Methodology, International Relations & the Inter-American System, Strategic Thinking for Hemispheric Defense & Security, Political Economy of Defense & Security, Multidimensional Security in the Americas: Challenges, Threats, and Responses, Civil-Military Relations Theory, Hemispheric Defense & Security Policy, Cyber Security & Public Security and Conflict Analysis Resolution.
The students also participated in various seminars and conferences addressing regional and global geopolitical topics, challenges, & concerns, human rights & international humanitarian law, and complex emergencies.
Another feature of the course was a series of academic trips to further solidify the program’s theoretical foundations and approaches to mitigating national and regional conflicts. These trips were conducted within the U.S. — New York, Texas, Florida, the Military Group at the UN, and a US Senate Armed Services Session – as well as academic trips conducted outside the US, such as Honduras and Mexico.
One of the many rewards of the educational trips was students’ participation in dialogues with regional academic experts and theorists who were authors of required readings for the Master’s program.
Senior Commander Ferguson has served in the Royal Bahamas Defense Force for more than 30 years and has served in numerous operational units. He has received the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Distinguished Medal, Royal Bahamas Defence Force Meritorious Medal, Summit of The Americas Medal, National Security Council Commendation, and Commander Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commendation.
