As a former naval officer with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in The Bahamas, author and speaker Commodore Tellis A. Bethel considers it a privilege to have lived in the Bahamas and traveled around its 700 islands. During this time he has fostered a distinct love for the pristine waters of The Bahamas and believes our unnamed waters should be named.

Commodore Bethel is also a proponent for celebrating the heritage of our indigenous people, the native Lucayans, whose intriguing heritage lives on as a faint whisper through the isles. Commodore Bethel has a great appreciation for the rich heritage of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and their historic role in the unfolding of the nations of the modern Americas. He also enjoys sharing unique insights about the life and legacy of the first known inhabitants of our shores. For that reason, Commodore Bethel is a leading advocate for promoting the unique heritage of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands as the birthplace of the modern Americas.

Commodore Bethel is a former Commander Defence Force within the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (2015 – 2020), who currently serves in the Ministry of National Security as the Standards Inspector of Security Forces within The Bahamas. Commodore Bethel has had years of experience as a young naval officer in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force engaged in guarding our heritage, safekeeping our nation's borders from rampant infiltration of illegal migrants and poachers, as well as extensive counter-drug smuggling operations throughout The Bahamas during the peak years of the 1980s narcotics trade.