Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel

Chief of Defence Staff Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force

Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel was born in Port of Spain Trinidad and spent his formative years in Diego Martin in Western Trinidad. He attended Trinity College and upon graduating, enrolled into the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard in 1988. In 1990 he graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth International Midshipman’s course. He returned to Trinidad and embarked on a career that encompassed the portfolios of Commanding Officer of Fast Patrol Craft, Special Naval Unit Commander (Special Operations), Gunnery Officer, Training Officer, Intelligence Officer, Operations Officer, Command Staff Officer, Staff Officer II Operations and Training (Defence Force Headquarters) and Aide de Camp (ADC) to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Air Commodore Daniel within the last seven (7) years held the portfolios of Commander Operations, the post of Executive Officer and Acting Commanding Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard. On 27 January 2014, he was transferred from the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard to the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard (TTAG) where he was appointed the Deputy Commanding Officer of the Air Guard and was subsequently appointed Acting Commanding Officer of the TTAG. In August 2014 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of the TTAG and promoted to the rank of Group Captain. Air Commodore Daniel is a graduate of the Lester B Pearson Canadian International Peace Keeping Training Centre, an honour graduate of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) International Maritime Officers’ Course and a University of the West Indies certified Professional Trainer. He also holds certification in Incident Command and Crisis Management from the USCG and a Diploma in Strategic Studies and Joint Operations from the United States Naval War College in Rhode Island. Recently he acquired additional certification from the International Intelligence Fellows Program of the National Intelligence University USA, the International Intelligence Directors’ Course of the Defence School of Intelligence, Chicksands, UK and the Caribbean Defence and Security Program of the William Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. In the law enforcement arena he has earned a Master of Studies Degree in Applied Criminology and Police Management from Cambridge University, UK in addition to being a certified Criminal Intelligence Analyst and Fire Arms Gold Commander. Air Commodore Daniel made history when he was promoted to his current rank of Air Commodore and appointed Chief of Defence Staff on 25 March 2019, as the first ever Air Commodore in the history of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. Air Commodore Daniel’s awards include the efficiency decoration and the efficiency medal, the Anti-Terrorist Medal. He is married to his wife of over twenty-six years (26years) Susan Daniel and they have two children Josiah and Ami-Joy.