The Royal Bermuda Regiment’s top training officer has been named its new Commanding Officer, it was revealed.

Major Ben Beasley, the RBR training officer and Acting Commanding Officer, will take over from Lieutenant-Colonel David Curley.

The former Royal Air Force officer said “I am honoured and humbled to be selected for this position.

“The field of potential candidates was impressive and speaks to the quality of officers serving in the Royal Bermuda Regiment,” the Commanding Officer designate said.

“The future of the RBR is a bright and exciting one, as we expand into the Coast Guard and work in more collaboration with the other Overseas Territories while still conducting civic and military operations at home, as we have done for 55 years,” he said.

Major Beasley, who is expected to take over as colonel in March, added: “All serving members are indebted to the public’s continuing support, especially those who employ our soldiers and support them through their careers.

“Mostly, it is to the families that sustain the homestead when the soldier in their life leaves for camps, training, or in times of peril, nobly putting the needs of the country before their own,” Major Beasley said.

“And for that, I am fortunate to have such a family and could not accept this position without acknowledging the sacrifices my wife Kirsten has accepted to make this possible.”

The news was announced by John Rankin, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the RBR.

Mr Rankin said: “I am delighted that Ben Beasley will be taking over as Commanding Officer of the regiment.

“The regiment plays a key role in ensuring the safety and security of Bermuda, as seen most recently in its work in helping to get the island back on its feet following Hurricane Humberto in September.

Mr Rankin continued: “The regiment has also shown its ability to meet new challenges, including, most recently, the development of the Bermuda Coast Guard.

Mr Rankin added: “Major Beasley will bring much experience to his new role, gained both within the regiment and from his former service in the Reserve Police and in the Royal Air Force.

“I look forward to working with Major Beasley as he prepares to lead the regiment into the future.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Curley has been on leave from the RBR since last October.

The Royal Gazette reported last month that he was understood to be linked to a police investigation into how a prominent lawyer acquired weapons from the RBR.

Justin Williams, whose law firm, Williams Barristers and Attorneys, formerly provided legal advice to the regiment, said then that he received two deactivated weapons from Warwick Camp for display purposes and that he did not pay for them.

The regiment confirmed there was an “ongoing investigation” after a Pati request from the Gazette, which asked for “records showing the sale or loan of any weapon belonging to the RBR to any individual or organisation since February 2016” — when Lieutenant-Colonel Curley took over as CO.

It said that a “law enforcement exemption” applied to the information requested.

Mr Williams’s home in Fairylands, Pembroke, was raided by police in November last year.