Who’s Who Wednesday
Royal Bahamas Defense Force
Christina Rahming, Petty Officer
UPDATE:
In January 2024,
Christian Rahming was promoted to
Chief Petty Officer
The following article, was published on Wednesday, July 29,
2020 on the Royal Bahamas Defense Force
FaceBook page celebrating
my niece, Petty Officer Christian Rahming.
Congratulations Christina! You are doing well.
We are proud of you. We love you.
oday
on Who’s Who Wednesdays (July 29, 2020), we highlight
a young Senior Enlisted who has had to overcome personal
barriers in her life, and is now performing her duties par
excellence as a seasoned seaman on the Royal Bahamas Defense
Force.
Encouraged by her father to seek sound employment, Petty
Officer Christina Rahming saw a notification in the
newspapers asking for Defense Force applicants. Without
hesitation, she dared to make a difference, applied and
subsequently was accepted to join the nation's most
prestigious organization on March 17, 2003 as a proud member
of the combined Entry 38 /Woman Entry 10.
While attending High School, Petty Officer Rahming blended
in with her peers. However, it was observed that something
was amiss. After having to repeat grades, her parents learnt
that their baby girl Christina had a condition called
dyslexia. This now meant that she had to attend Blairwood
Academy, a school which had the resources for students
needing specialized teaching. Despite the odds stacked
against her, she overcame this hurdle and successfully
completed both her high school and tertiary education,
attaining an Associates of Arts Degree in Journalism from
Success Training College.
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“I am an energetic, charismatic and
hard-working woman”.
Christian Rahming
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After completing Basic Entry Training, Rahming was drafted
to the Public Relations department, where she was assigned
duties of a photographer and writer. Over the course of her
career, she has also worked in the Administration and
Headquarters Departments, and at the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) Headquarters. In the Squadron
Department, she has served aboard HMBS BAHAMAS and is
currently assigned aboard HMBS NASSAU. Rahming has enhanced
her skills on the patrol craft, in a diversity of
capacities, including deckhand and radio operator. Her
current duties include bridge writer and administrator.
As a seaman, she loves the salt life, which she says gives
her a peace of mind. A recipient of the 2011 Marine of the
Year Award, she fondly recounts an incident aboard HMBS
BAHAMAS. A great many of her watchmates were experiencing
sea sickness and she was called upon to be the helmsman for
a few hours. Because of her physical challenge (being
short!), she was forced to kneel in the chair to steer the
craft comfortably in the nasty weather conditions. A funny
one indeed.
Married
to Devaughn Rahming for
11 years, this energetic and charismatic individual is not
afraid of risk taking. One who is serious about her physical
fitness, she loves the gym, is an avid weight lifter and
gets in her cardio with daily runs. Her husband refers to
her as a ‘Workout Junkie’. As a member of the Royal Bahamas
Defence Force, one has to maintain a regiment of physical
fitness in order to perform their daily duties in guarding
the territorial waters of The Bahamas. This, along with
maintaining a healthy lifestyle is what motivates Rahming to
keep in shape.
She lists a number of females in the organization who has
contributed to her success as a Senior Enlisted. As a
Recruit, she reflected back on instructors such as Chief
Petty Officer Rhoda Cleare (retired) who demonstrated to her
how not to show any fear in the line of duty, and to always
take life seriously.
Throughout Rahming’s career, she credits Force Chief Petty
Officer Linda Knowles-Charlow, Chief Petty Officers Linda
Allen (Retired) and Yvette Minnis, and Petty Officer
Shamarah Lloyd-Pitt for sowing seeds of encouragement,
motivation and confidence into her life. These individuals,
among others, assisted in imparting to her, words of wisdom
and guidance.
One significant accomplishment Rahming cherishes is that of
being advanced to a Senior Enlisted. According to her, she
does not take lightly the rate of a female Petty Officer,
because she sees it as an opportunity to work hand in hand
with her male counterparts.
As she reflects on her naval journey, she has no regrets.
She has been able to transform her obstacles into
opportunities and her challenges into chances.
“I have no regrets, because everything happens for a
reason”, said Rahming. “If I were to change anything, then I
wouldn’t be the person I am today”. She
confidently asserts, “I am an energetic, charismatic and
hard-working woman”.
Petty Officer Rahming recalls her 17 year journey and
encourages her shipmates to: “Dig deep within yourself.
Don’t fall under influences and pressures. Know your worth
so that you may be able to take control of your career by
doing what you know you are destined to do, instead of what
others think you should do”.
