Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, one of five soldiers who perished in the line of duty while on a recent border mission, was on Friday laid to rest.
With a military career spanning nearly three decades, Welcome contributed to Guyana in more ways than the Guyanese public even knew or appreciated, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
“While many commentators have the luxury to make posts about what we are doing, these silent heroes are actually doing it.
“When we sit behind a screen and question the ability of our men and women in uniform, they leave their families and their families and do what they do best… not talk about, not write about it. They do it,” Dr. Ali, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, said at a funeral service held at the Promenade Gardens in Georgetown.
Similar sentiments were echoed by GDF Chief of Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan.
“Our military comprises silent heroes. Everyday, we get up to serve this nation without fear, favour or ill will. Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome represents that,” the Brigadier said.
Recently, the Lieutenant Colonel was given the task of expanding the country’s National Reserve, a body part of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) that provides a first response and augmentation to the regular Force in the execution of Military and Civil Defence Missions.
Welcome led the Reserve Battalion and was a firm advocate of nationwide reservist recruitment to boost Guyana’s military capacity. He also prepared a plan, from his own volition, that was presented to Brigadier on other actions that could be taken to improve the force.
Such actions earned him various titles from President Ali; those are: a “visionary military strategist, leader and forward-thinking man.”
He worked on the frontlines in the military but also served Guyana on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Ali said Welcome spearheaded much of the operational logistics required to deliver aid to people and help keep them safe during that disaster. He also worked with communities so that they could get the support required.
And just as he did in the military as a soldier and leader, President Ali said the Lieutenant Colonel put his life on the line every day.
“… every day, he put his life at risk, in helping us get people vaccinated, in helping us to take support to the families, and helping us to keep Guyanese safe,” Dr. Ali said.
In a message directly to Welcome’s wife and young son, the Commander-in-Chief earnestly told them that they should always remember that the Lieutenant Colonel was selfless, determined and a true patriot.
Outside of his professional life, Lieutenant Colonel Welcome was remembered as a beloved family man. He told jokes to keep his siblings and relatives in bright spirits, he took the flak for actions he was not even involved in and he stepped up when his family needed his the most.
“He always did his best to make others happy. He acted as the big brother of the household even though he wasn’t the eldest,” Welcome’s brother, James Tappin, said.
After the funeral at the Promenade Gardens, the Lieutenant Colonel was taken to the Le Repentir Cemetery for a military parade, a gun salute and his burial.
