B.D.F. Makes History With Their First Female Lieutenant
Today marks a historic day for the Belize Defense Force as it celebrates the promotion of the first-ever female Lieutenant Colonel. After serving in the force for over eighteen years, Doctor Lydia Guerra, who holds Masters of Medicine and a Bachelors of Science degree, was honored before her fellow soldiers in a ceremony in which they presented her with the new title. We spoke to the Lieutenant to hear how she feels about this monumental achievement.
Lydia Guerra
Lieutenant Colonel Lydia Guerra, Force Medical Officer, Belize Defense Force
“Today I received my promotion from a major to lieutenant colonel and it marks a big milestone for the Belize Defense Force because I’m the first woman to achieve that rank in the history of the country. Being a lieutenant colonel puts me among the senior leadership of the force. Along with the rank, it also comes with the appointment as a force medical officer. As such, I am now in charge of the health care of the soldiers and all of the others from the community from which we serve. So I basically have to run our hospital services, our nursing staff, paramedics and all the other equipment and everything that comes along with managing a hospital. I’ve been in the force for a little over 18 years. I initially started off as an officer cadet. At which point I was afforded the opportunity to pursue a medical degree in Mexico at the military academy, again being one of the first Belizeans to graduate from that military academy. I subsequently returned home where I have been serving as a medical officer within the defense force. Women within the force are being afforded greater opportunities now than maybe were done in the past. Like I said, I can’t really say what exactly the environment was like at that time, but I’m very grateful that now, especially in my generation, my comrades will have that opportunity to reach for higher ranks and maybe within a few more years, we might have our first general who would be a woman. I am truly humbled by this opportunity and I’ve always looked at being a good role model to everyone. First, I always wanted to be a good role model to my little sister. I knew she was coming behind me, so I always had to pave the way. And I wanted that road to be one filled with great opportunities, great achievements. So that I could lead her in a proper way and just as how my mom always pushed me and enforced in me that it’s important to work hard. And with dedication, anything is possible.”
Lieutenant Colonel Lydia Guerra says that she plans to work on securing partnerships with external agencies in order to aid the growth of the force hospital.
