JDF opens salon at Up Park Camp

A few mornings ago, Lieutenant Colonel Alicia Henry was up at 5:30 a.m. processing her own hair – not because she wanted to, but like many other occasions, duty called. 
With the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) preparing for the grand opening of its new beauty salon and events marking 50 years of women in the military, Henry simply did not have the time to make a trip to a salon. She believes the new facility at Up Park Camp will make that struggle a thing of the past for many female soldiers.
“What this space will do is that I don’t have to wake up 5:30 to do it myself, I can just set an appointment and come into work and then go to my appointment and I don’t have to worry or fuss about anything,” she said.
The salon, The Base Beauty, officially opened on Thursday at the 1 Engineer Regiment PRI Complex, and is an expansion of a beauty service the JDF has had for more than three decades. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, said that with more than 1,100 women now serving in the JDF, the Force must provide facilities that allow them to meet the same standards expected of them while making it easier for them to do so.  The facility is being introduced as part of activities marking 50 years of women in the JDF, after Wemyss-Gorman directed that the projects be brought together. The facility addresses a practical need the CDS said she experienced. 
“My first experience during training was I had to go to the barbershop. I didn’t have a place to groom my hair,” she recalled. The facility is not the only one planned for servicewomen. Wemyss-Gorman pointed to an existing salon at Burke Barracks and said she anticipates similar spaces being established at other JDF bases islandwide.
She made it clear that supporting women in the JDF is not separate from military readiness, it is part of it.
“I see women continuing to find their space here, to show their talent and their worth. We have added a lot of value to our operational effectiveness,” she said.
Henry explained the convenience in having the salon at the base. 
“We, as service members, sometimes have odd hours and we don’t get opportunity to do things on the go to get the different services,” Henry told THE WEEKEND STAR. 
“If we can provide that service for persons internally, then they don’t have to worry about trying to ask for time off or to get off duty to run to the salon because we can offer that service.”
And it will not come with the expensive price tags like many commercial salons. The salon will offer manicures, pedicures, hairstyling, cream treatments, washing and other services, while additional professionals can be brought in for services such as braiding and make-up.
“The price, this is very subsidised because we also contribute to a fund that is used to offset the cost for the salon. The cost would be very, very minimal. It would be probably less than a quarter of what is charged on the civil streets.”
Henry highlighted that the facility represents more than hair and beauty treatments; it’s also for women to have a sense of pride and also to know that the JDF is not just about them serving their country.
“We are also about recognising and giving back to service members and taking care of our service members who work so hard,” she said. [It] is that symbol that we care and that we are providing the facilities so that service members are comfortable and know that the system, which is JDF, cares for them.”
The salon will also operate within the JDF’s grooming standards, including regulations governing hairstyles, hair colour, make-up and nails. Henry said this should make it easier for servicewomen to remain within regulations while using the facility. 
 “The service members know the policy so we won’t have any run-ins or persons not adhering to the policy, because it will be done by persons who are fully au fait with the policy,” Henry said.
Women were first recruited into the JDF on August 11, 1976, when the Women’s Unit was established as a sub-unit of the Support and Services Battalion. Since then, women have moved beyond the traditional support roles and into positions. Wemyss-Gorman, who joined the JDF in 1992, has been at the forefront of that progression. She became the first woman to command a military ship in the Caribbean, the first female naval captain and the first woman to attain flag rank in the JDF before becoming the Force’s first female CDS in 2022. Now, she wants the progress to continue. 
“For 50 years time, I expect, I may not be around, but I expect that the JDF will continue to be fully integrated and to give both gender the opportunity to achieve their greatest potential,” she said. “I see women continuing to find their space here, to show their talent and their worth. We have added a lot of value to our operational effectiveness.”