Top T&T female soldier gets boot
Published on: 5/14/2009.
PORT-OF-SPAIN - Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Alfonso, the highest-ranking female soldier in Trinidad and Tobago, has been hit a double blow.
She has been given the boot as the defence attaché at the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London, and she was bypassed last month for promotion to the rank of colonel which would have given her another five years in the military.
By letter dated April 8, and signed by Minister of National Security Martin Joseph, Alfonso was instructed to proceed on pre-retirement leave on May 18. The letter also wished Alfonso the best in her future endeavours.
The letter means that Alfonso must vacate her post as defence attaché at the London mission, as well as give up her posh four-storey apartment in the Fulham neighbourhood in West London, sources at the commission told the T&T Guardian. But because she is married to an Englishman, she can remain in Britain, sources said.
It is a tradition that serving members of the Defence Force are appointed to this country's missions in Britain, Canada and the United States. The recommendation is made by the Chief of Defence Staff and the Minister of National Security gives the approval.
The Guardian understands that the Trinidad and Tobago authorities have already selected a replacement for Alfonso in London. A staff member at the London mission said yesterday that from the moment Alfonso received the letter, there was a buzz among fellow employees at the sudden termination of her posting.
Alfonso, 49, was posted to the London mission on May 18, 2005, when Glenda Morean-Phillips was the T&T high commissioner. When her three-year stint ended in 2008, she was given an extension and remained in London. (Guardian)
