Colonel Edric Zahra
Colonel Edric Zahra was born in Attard on 15 March 1978. He attended St Aloysius College, B’Kara, Malta, and furthered his studies at the University of Malta, whereby he successfully completed a Diploma in Sports and Leisure, a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Anthropology, and a Masters in Maltese Studies. Furthermore, he is a graduate of the International Maritime Law Institute, with an Advanced Diploma in Maritime Law, and a graduate of the US Naval War College with a Diploma in Strategy and War, Theatre Security Decision Making, and Joint Maritime Operations.
Colonel Edric Zahra joined the Armed forces of Malta (AFM) in 1999, and following a local cadetship course, he attended the Allievi Ufficiali di Complemento course at the Scuola di Comunicazzioni in Cecchiniola, Italy. As a Second Lieutenant, Edric Zahra attended a Commissioning Course at The Basic School (TBS), US Marine Corps, Virginia, USA, following which he furthered his specialisation by attending the US Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course (IOC) at the same school. Here, he was ranked with the top ten students of the entire course. Throughout his career, Colonel Zahra continued to expand his military knowledge by attending other specialised courses in Peace Keeping, Terrorism and Security Studies, Maritime Law Enforcement, and Ship Boarding Techniques, at the US Law Enforcement Academy, South Carolina, USA, at the US Department of Defense, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre, Suda Bay, Greece. During the years, Colonel Zahra also attended other specialised training courses with specialised military units in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Greece.
Past his almost 23 years of service, Colonel Edric Zahra filled various local and overseas operational and administrative posts, which include: Assistant Adjutant to Commanding Officer 1 Regiment, Platoon Commander within C Company 1 Regiment, Officer-in-charge of the Rapid Deployment Team, and Search and Rescue Boats, and Executive Officer (second-in-command) of P61 within Maritime Squadron, Officer Commanding B Company 1 Regiment, Staff Officer responsible of the Armed Forces of Malta Civil-Military Cooperation, and during the last five years Commanding Officer 1 Regiment.
He has served on two occasions overseas as part of a Mobile Training Team to the Libyan Naval Forces in Tripoli, Libya, following the Libyan uprising and as a National Contingent Commander in Athens, Greece as part of a FRONTEX Operation.
Over the years, Edric Zahra also formed part of a cadre of instructors within the AFM Maritime Safety and Security Training Centre, and chaired various AFM procurement boards. He was also decorated with the Long and Efficient Service Medal.
