No Retreat No Surrender: The COVID-19 Experience of a Small Island Developing State - Memoirs of a Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Leading the Fight Against the Pandemic

“A story of sacrifice, perseverance, teamwork and partnership” is how the retired army lieutenant colonel who led the public health authorities’ war on the COVID-19 pandemic has described his memoirs of the campaign.

“Our story simply had to be told,” said former Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel the Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic at the recent launch of No Retreat No Surrender: The COVID-19 Experience of a Small Island Developing State at the Main Guard, Garrison Savannah.

The title contains the catchphrase that became synonymous with Bostic as he led nationally televised media briefings at the height of a pandemic that has so far claimed 648 lives from over 110 000 reported cases of the virus, according to the latest health ministry figures.

“What we endured throughout the pandemic as a Small Island Developing State, and our willingness in the face of the unthinkable to fight to the bitter end without retreating or surrendering, was most commendable,” declared Lieutenant Colonel Bostic, who received this country’s highest award and the title for leading the charge. “It brought out the very best of Barbados and exemplified who we are, and what we are willing to fight for.”

His last boss, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, led the list of VIPs in attendance that included Bostic’s former Cabinet colleagues, Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force and head of the Regional Security System Commodore Errington Shurland, Deputy Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce, and Chief Medical Officer Dr the Most Honourable Kenneth George.

Reflecting on the nation’s response amid unprecedented challenges, Bostic emphasised the unity and determination that characterised Barbados throughout the crisis. He also underlined the book’s significance in capturing the nation’s collective efforts and the heroic endeavours of Barbadians combating a formidable adversary, even amid natural disasters like Hurricane Elsa and the La Soufriere volcano eruption in neighbouring St Vincent.

Prime Minister Mottley praised the work of her former health minister during the pandemic, endorsing the book as a blueprint for handling future crises. She also highlighted Bostic’s holistic approach, acknowledging the necessity of a whole-of-nation effort and emphasising the country’s unity and partnership as defining factors.

“This is not the last pandemic our country will ever face. There was no blueprint for Jeffrey, there was no blueprint for the Ministry of Health, there was no blueprint for any of us,” she told the gathering. “And one of the things that struck me from very early on was a clarity of thought that Jeffrey had that recognised that this was a whole-of-nation effort and not a Ministry of Health effort.