Opinion: Conscription and Selfishness
[Written by Larry Burchall]
Too busy? Too involved? Don’t like being required to do something? Yes, but jobs still need to be done. Responsibilities still need to be shouldered. Those are the core issues involved in conscription. But there’s this as well. There is a streak of selfishness – Me-Me-Me – that is running through the current anti-conscription campaign.
There are about 50,000 Bermudians in Bermuda. However about 65,000 people reside and work here. So Bermudians are a part, not the whole. What happens in and to Bermuda is of maximum concern to just the 50,000. The other 15,000 can readily displace to another country. But 50,000 Bermudians will remain.
Bermuda’s unique isolation at 32N64W has enabled and encouraged an enormously successful national economy putting Bermudians in the top five per capita incomes in the world. Bermuda’s success, though, depends on maintaining social stability. As ‘owners of the rock’, Bermudians have final ownership of all that is here. Bermudians also have final responsibility for what happens here.
Because of Bermuda’s splendid isolation, Bermuda has never been invaded and remains an unlikely candidate for invasion by a foreign power. So why have an army?
Anyone watching the world news will have seen armed forces used in several ways.
In Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica, armed soldiers of the Jamaica Defence Force acted in direct support to the Jamaican Police as the properly elected government of Jamaica sought to re-impose law and good order in Tivoli.
In Afghanistan, armed soldiers from many nations are at war against an enemy defined as the Taliban. In the Mediterranean, soldiers of the Israeli Defence Force operated against civilians involved in the Gaza relief effort.
In Haiti, armed and unarmed soldiers delivered relief to the victims of the earthquake. Years ago, a US Navy Task Force was re-directed to the Indonesian earthquake. Then hundreds of combat-ready kill-trained US Marines loaded into helicopters, and flew off to carry out a difficult and sometimes dangerous humanitarian mission.
All of that comes together in a special way for Bermuda and Bermudians.
Last year, shortly after Bermuda’s ongoing “gangfight at OK Corral” got underway, Premier Dr Ewart Brown called for the introduction of US ‘SWAT’ teams. That initial top-level request contains the crystallized essence of Bermuda’s present conscription problem.
One – why should anybody else come here and risk their lives to save or protect Bermudians, if Bermudians are doing nothing to save and protect themselves?
Two – Are Bermudians now so comfortable, so rich, and so selfish that they think that they can buy every service and support and that there is no need to make any individual or personal commitment, or take any personal risk?
In 1951, Bermuda’s military was re-started as an all-volunteer organization. The Bermuda Rifles ran out of white volunteers and began conscripting in 1957. The Bermuda Militia Artillery ran out of black volunteers and began conscripting in 1960. The integrated Bermuda Regiment was born under long-in-place conscription.
In the non-military world and supporting an expanding economy, Bermuda began significantly importing – hiring – foreign labour in 1960. Until 1960, the non-Bermudian workforce in Bermuda’s national economy had stayed under ten percent. In 2008, out of the 40,312 people working in Bermuda, some 13,033 were non-Bermudians. By 2008, thirty-two percent of workers in Bermuda were non-Bermudian.
Bermudians make up about ninety percent of government’s workforce. As a consequence, in the private sector, Bermudians are only sixty-four percent and non-Bermudians make up thirty-six percent of the private sector workforce. In several segments of the private sector, Bermudians are actually outnumbered. All of that proves the scarcity and non-availability of Bermudians.
The Bermuda Fire and the Corrections Services are the only disciplined services that are more than ninety-eight percent Bermudian. The Fire Service, with an annual requirement of only SIX people, is having problems recruiting enough Bermudians to be full-time paid firemen. For over seventy years the Bermuda Police Service has not been able to recruit enough Bermudians as fulltime paid policepersons. In 2010, about three out of every ten cops is non-Bermudian.
There is a clear and general shortage of Bermudians. There is a clear and specific non-availability of Bermudians who will voluntarily serve in a disciplined service. This non-availability of Bermudians is a longstanding arithmetic fact that is supported and illustrated by a raft of national examples – some of which I’ve just illustrated.
Back to that question – Why should somebody else’s son come to Bermuda to risk his life for Bermudians? Why, indeed, should Barbadian, Jamaican, English cops be out on the streets of Bermuda, night after night, risking themselves for Bermudians. Why?
Why not scrap the foreign element in Bermuda’s Police Service, and rely only on the 300 or so Bermudians who would be left to deal with all of Bermuda’s still-rising violence? Why not?
If Bermuda is a mature and developed society, the ultimate preservation of law and good order is the responsibility of Bermudians. The Bermuda Regiment, like the Jamaica Defence Force, is Bermuda’s final back-up to the promise that the government can and will maintain a regime of law and good order.
If Bermudians accept this fact, and if there is a scarcity of Bermudians, then how – given what you now know about the population arithmetic of Bermuda and the problems of recruiting to the highly disciplined Fire and Police Services – how, just how, will you get “VOLUNTEERS” in the numbers needed to have a viable back-up to the Bermuda Government’s ability to maintain law and good order? How?
There is a streak of narrow self-centered selfishness running through the current anti-conscription campaign. This Me-Me-Me streak runs counter to the arithmetic of Bermuda’s population. This Me-Me-Me concentration runs counter to the selflessness daily demonstrated by the Police and Fire Services. Me-Me-Me flows against the rising tide of violence in Bermuda. Me-Me-Me is narrow selfishness pitted against a rising body-count and an insidious threat to law and good order.
Are Bermudians mature and responsible for Bermuda? What practical national option is there to conscription in order to maintain a viable military force?
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You hit the nail right on the head with this artical. There is indeed selfessness in the anti-conscription group. We Bermudians are very blessed here. Is it to hard to ask that are young men return some service to Bermuda by doing their 3 years. Whether supporting the queen who is the commander and chief of the current regiment or as an independent nation. Conscription should continue because you will never get the numbers requied through volunteering in order to support the island for needs that are and will be required. The Regiment is not this horrible institution. I did my time and enjoyed if for what it was worth. Skils are learned and discipline is taught. Some of which these youth of today need, even more than what the regiment gives. Next thing will be that going to school is not necessary. Then were will we be. Wake up bermuda!!! Support your island and support your young men to go to regiment.
1. You compare the Bermuda Regiment with the Jamaica Defence Force. However there is no conscription to the JDF – soldiers choose to join.
2. You suggest that no foreigner would risk their lives to protect Bermudians. When the Falkland Islands, another British territory, was invaded by Argentina, British soldiers risked (and lost) their lives for that territory. Why would they not do the same for Bermuda? It’s also interesting to note that despite its situation, which is far more dangerous than Bermuda’s, it does not practice conscription, the Falkland Islands Defence Force being a part-time volunteer force. If it’s good enough for them, why not for us?
3. You claim that the Regiment is essential to guarantee that the government can maintain law and order. How many times has it been used for that purpose in its history and how did it perform on those occasions? What benefit does it offer the Island the rest of the time, other than hurricane cleanup (for which I believe another, non-military solution could be found)?
4. Why does there need to be a backup to the police to maintain law and order anyway? Why not just focus on strengthening the police force?
5. Even if you accept there should be some kind of backup for the police, and that it could not be created by volunteers alone, that does not justify conscription to provide it. There are currently not enough volunteers to join the fire service and the police were (and may still be) suffering a similar problem. Should we start conscripting people into those roles too?
6. You assert that selfishness is behind much of the opposition to the Regiment. I disagree. People may simply wish to contribute to Bermuda in other ways. Lamont Marshall is one of the Island’s top runners. Why should he be forced to give his time to the Regiment rather than spending it training, to better represent Bermuda in international athletics events? There are many ways people can make a valuable contribution to this island; the Regiment is only one of them. Indeed, I would argue that it is actually a lesser contribution than many other endeavours, given that the recruits are rarely called on to actually do anything to directly help the Island.
7. Finally, I find some of your nationalistic comments rather depressing. You continue to maintain that a non-Bermudian can “readily displace” to another country, whereas Bermudians cannot. I would suggest that it is far easier for a young, single, educated Bermudian to move to another country than it is for myself, a non-Bermudian married to a Bermudian, with a Bermudian child and Bermudian in-laws nearby to help us. I am also surprised that you suggest that it would be better for the police to be comprised solely of Bermudians. If foreigners are willing to come here and serve in the police, why should their nationality matter? I find your dismissal of their contribution and dedication to Bermuda rather churlish. Bermuda is an island, but it need not be isolated. There is nothing shameful in accepting the assistance of non-Bermudians who choose to offer it.
Captain Burchall,
While I tend to agree with your sentiment that the current Bermudians Against the Draft movement is largely self motivated I disagree with your arguments in support of conscription.
As an individual who finished my service as required this March I feel I am adequately enabled to express my disapproval of conscription and my larger question of whether we can continue to afford having an army at all.
You suggest “There is a clear and general shortage of Bermudians. There is a clear and specific non-availability of Bermudians who will voluntarily serve in a disciplined service. ”
To the contrary there are many who will voluntarily service in a disciplined service like the Police and Fire Services, the issue is that those who do fail the drug, physical and written tests making them ineligible.
Let’s review what Labour and Home Affairs Minister David Burch said on the issue in a 2008 article on why we’re increasingly having to look overseas for candidates in these services (http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d8bdb330030001):
“Cannabis smoking is now so prevalent that the fire and prison services are having to recruit from overseas, according to Government Senate Leader David Burch. He said there were plenty of would-be recruits who could not make it past the first hurdle with many inquiring whether the drug testing would assess their hair follicles or urine so they could gauge whether they could trick their way past the test.”
There are countless such examples to be found that suggest that Bermudians are indeed willing to volunteer for disciplined service but are not able to. Not simply restricted to drug use, many do not meet the educational requirements required of the disciplines at hand.
This runs counter to your entire argument. The only reason the regiment is able to fill it’s ranks is that it places no barriers on entry for drug users, the physically taxed and the uneducated. These are the individuals that readily are not deemed fit for service elsewhere and yet an argument is made that we can rely on these individuals when equipped with rifles in situations like Afghanistan, Gaza, Haiti or Tivoli Gardens?
Even further, Regiment soldiers are constitutionally assured that they will never have to be sent off island to wage warfare so that only leaves Haiti or Tivoli as viable options. It would beg many to wonder why we would require conscripted soldiers to risk their lives entering into an armed conflict with drug lords due to be extradited especially when the focus of a conscript’s training is largely riot and traditional warfare, not close quarters raids on heavily defended compounds. Neither the training nor the support exists to put a bunch of conscripted individuals, many of whom could be uneducated, not physically up to the task and under the influence of drugs. It simply is a poor argument to support your basis of a need for conscription and by that extension the regiment itself.
Finally we reach the Haiti & disaster relief argument, perhaps the only viable argument made. We certainly do need to plan support for such situations however at some point the sheer cost of maintaining an army tasked with far more responsibilities than are effective or necessary should be questioned when we continue to run deficits and debts that you yourself argue are unsustainable and must come to an end. Could not a cheaper relief specific force be constructed that costs far less to maintain but served the same ends? Costs must be cut somewhere and placing your own personal bias for the regiment give your fond experiences and memories aside, can we truly afford an immensely expensive solution looking for a problem?
It is time we had clear and honest discussions concerning the value the regiment adds to our community. It is also time we were honest with our community that despite mis-perceptions the regiment is neither specifically tasked with, equipped for or successful at reforming our wayward youth and should that fact be known far fewer would be willing to support this endeavor.
As an individual who readily served his requirement to our country and lived up to the expectations set forth for that service this writer maintains that conscription is ill founded and that the regiment, as nice as it may be, may simply be far too large of an expense, both monetarily and societally for us to continue justifying.
Denis,
“….that the regiment, as nice as it may be, may simply be far too large of an expense, both monetarily and societally for us to continue justifying.”
What then do you propose? No military at all and complete reliance on an up-gunned and fully-armed Police Service that is more than 30% – perhaps 50% to 60% – non-Bermudian? Or would you prefer the other choice, use Filipinos, or Jamaicans, or some other nationality to create a completely mercenary, smaller and cheaper outfit that will happily use lethal force without batting an eye?
Which?
You’ll see the answers that I gave to Philip Wells, and you’ll see the thread.
Essentially, there are 50,000 individuals Bermudians – with each individual replete with a full range of individual human rights and freedoms etc… that are felt to be inviolate and that no one should touch. Then there is a bloc of 50,000 Bermudians who have the right to live in peace and security. The rights of each individual are balanced against the needs and rights of the whole. Where the whole has needs that must be met, the individuals must satisfy the needs of the whole.
You spoke of drug problems. The quick answer is to employ mercenaries. The best answer is to fix the problem and move on with soldiers who have been trained and re-motivated. No society today is without problems. The individuals in that society must come to grips with their individual problems and then team up and work for and protect the best interests of the group.
Denis, to have or not to have an army is a practical – not emotional – matter. The arithmetic of Bermuda’s population plus the power equation that I described to Philip Wells points, unemotionally, to having sufficient manpower – that is actual numbers of human beings.
There are 50,000 individual Bermudians. There is a 50,000 person nation. The relationship is symbiotic. Conscription is simply the arithmetic solution to the power equation and the lack of available Bermudian manpower. The other solutions are a sizable mercenary force or no force at all.
But listen to the gunshots around this community; count the bodies; and recall George Duckett, Richard Sharples, Hugh Sayers, Mark Doe, Victor Rego, Gladwin Ingham, and the un-named American tourists.
Does Bermuda want an army?
Larry
Captain Burchall,
You do yourself and the military a disservice with your arguments. “[Would you prefer a non-Bermudian]” outfit that will happily use lethal force without batting an eye”.
Are you telling me that the choice of a “trained soldier” to use lethal force on this island rests in whether or not they are Bermudian and not at all in their training? You’ve contradicted yourself. Either soldiers can be trained to adequately know when lethal force is appropriate or they cannot. If not, then how can we justify putting Bermudian lives at risk when they are incapable of deciding when it is necessary to do so to protect the “needs and rights of the whole”. If so, why is there a distinction between Bermudian and non-Bermudian soldiers? The larger question that follows is whether or not an individual of limited education and personal drug use can make such a decision as well? The police and fire services don’t believe so.
Mercenaries are not a “quick answer” to “solve the drug problem”. The Tivoli raid didn’t solve the drug problem and it certainly didn’t even address it. It simply aimed to take out a drug lord which resulted in a brutal urban warfare leading to the death of 73 civilians all for the capture of only four rifles, two handguns and 8000 rounds of ammunition. This is what you use as your example of what we need to solve the “drug problem” here? All out government led warfare in our community?
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7138689.ece)
We spend nearly $9 million a year on the regiment. Practically speaking that’s quite a lot of money. According to my own training I was told that conflicts such a riots do not happen instantly and can be predicted based upon a build up of public outcry. From this we certainly could enlist the assistance of foreign properly trained soliders (mercenaries if you’d prefer to call them) who know when lethal force is necessary and when it is not. In 30 years, how much have we spent that could have been spent towards actually addressing the drug and societal problems facing our community?
You suggest “But listen to the gunshots around this community; count the bodies; and recall George Duckett, Richard Sharples, Hugh Sayers, Mark Doe, Victor Rego, Gladwin Ingham, and the un-named American tourists.”
The regiment didn’t prevent these deaths and relied on foreign mercenaries to assist in the aftermath of the assination of the Governor. The regiment has no hand in preventing any of the recent shootings and the sentiment among the lower ranks is that the regiment is not trusted nor respected by the local police force. How can a police force rely on an army it doesnt’ trust for assistance? Further the recent gunshots in the community amount to gang on gang slayings, not mass terrorist attacks. What level of assistance can and would the regiment realistically be asked to provide? Are we due to engage in mass slaughter to capture our own drug lords? Personally I would be appauled by such actions as the mass death of many to capture few sounds counter to your earlier arguement about societal balance.
Finally, we can draw an even larger question of your earlier arguement of a Hatian Military which contrary to your suggestion doesn’t actually exist except on paper. The CIA world factbook suggests Haiti has “no regular military forces – small Coast Guard; the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) – Army, Navy, and Air Force – have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished (2009)”.
Haiti is part of a long list of demilitarized countries, perhaps it is time Bermuda joined them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_without_armed_forces
“Essentially, there are 50,000 individuals Bermudians – with each individual replete with a full range of individual human rights and freedoms etc… that are felt to be inviolate and that no one should touch. Then there is a bloc of 50,000 Bermudians who have the right to live in peace and security.”
You don’t have a problem with government infringing on the human rights and freedoms they are supposed to protect?
Phil,
I’ll pick up from the two questions asked in your 4th point.
Why does there need to be a backup to the police to maintain law and order anyway? Why not just focus on strengthening the police force? All your points are valid points for discussion. But the second question in this sentence goes to the heart.
The BPS has to augment it strength from overseas – and has done so for over seventy years – and it struggles – and has for over fifty years – to reach and maintain the 90 Reserve policepersons that it is authorized to have. Where, where, where will the bodies come from? My point, pointedly reinforced by your question, is that Bermudians slough off their fundamental duty and requirement to look after themselves onto others. We have done so for so long that we think it normal. We are quite unlike the Brits who reckon that they must look after themselves.
The JDF is a volunteer outfit that draws from a 3,000,000 population that suffers over 20% unemployment and that exports labour. Jamaica is able to have a 3,500 person Defence Force that had to deploy over 600 of its soldiers (almost 20% of its available strength) to deal with a problem confined to an area about 1/5 the size of Hamilton. This speaks to the need for manpower. Manpower means just that. “Boots on the ground”.
In essence, the Tivoli Gardens ‘problem’ could easily have been dealt with by using firepower and not manpower. Standoff artillery could have obliterated the area in about 2 hours of concentrated fire. Efficient air power could have done the same thing in four minutes. Manpower is deployed to achieve a mission while minimizing civilian casualties. Manpower means putting men on the ground. To put men on the ground means having sufficient men available. That means MEN in numbers. Niot just a well-armed 50 or 100 who use necessarily high levels of applued firepower. The more men deployed, the less firepower applied. That’s why US and Brit casualties in Afghanistan are high. They are not simply using firepower to obliterate. Exactly the same absolutely generic power equation applies here in lovely isolated beautiful beach-bound Bermuda.
Does Law and Order break down? Can Law and Order break down in Bermuda? Ask that of these people: Richard Sharples, Hugh Sayers, Mark Doe, Victor Rego, George Duckett, Gladwin Ingham, and two un-named tourists. When they’ve answered you, count the rounds that have been fired and the bodies that have dropped since 1st May 2009 – and don’t forget last nights two casualties. And then perhaps you’ll let me know what your answer is?
There is a balance to be struck. The balance must ultimately come down on the side of the preservation of Law and good Order, and it is the people who desire that who must accept the responsibility and pay the price.
Of course we could always – while it lasts – use our Bermuda money to pay some Filipinos or Jamaicans or any other mercenary to do our dirty work for us. It is, after all, the privilege of the rich.
Larry
Clearly law and order can break (and has broken) down in Bermuda. But that does not mean that some kind of Bermudian military force is necessary, and even if it were, it still does not justify conscription to create that force. Notwithstanding the difficulties the BPS has in recruiting officers, it is its job to deal with violence in Bermuda. No-one is suggesting that the Regiment can or should help with the current wave of shootings; indeed some might argue it makes things worse by teaching young men how to fire a gun.
I believe that conscription is fundamentally illiberal and should be abolished, but the abolition of conscription need not mean the death of the Regiment. A single, willing, professional soldier (or police officer) could be as effective as a larger number of relatively inexperienced and often unwilling conscripts. An all-volunteer, full-time Regiment may be much smaller than the Regiment of today, but it may be just as effective.
I beg to differ Larry. I know that your an old regimental hat, but I also think that you are a fair one. Lets for a second draw away from the argument based on sheer man power. And look at this from another perspective. If I as a flesh and blood male human being were asked to report for duty in the event there was a break down in national law and order, I would not do so! Why because I would not risk my life to fight for something I did not believe in! Do you think that if there was a civil uprising in Bermuda to the scale where we had to deploy the regiment, that those members of the regiment would not have personal ties to the opposing force? Of course they would! This is Bermuda! Lets face it a brother is not going to fight a brother. So what use is the regiment, if we do not know even how it would respond?
The Regiment represents the need for men to oppress and control
other men! It has nothing to do with discipline of the youngsters, because I know for a fact they do not conscript trouble makers, they purposefully avoid them by checking police records. I also know for a fact that there have been former Regimental conscripts who have committed gun related crimes in Bermuda and probably conduct fire arms training within their own gangs.
The Regiment represents the removal of freedom and the waste of ones time. How am I helping the public by sitting in Warwick camp watching the time pass! I could be in the Mirrors program, Bermuda Sloop program, any one of the much needed programs in Bermuda. Instead I deal with ignorance and the waste of my valuable time.
The Bermuda Regiment is not about me or you, it is about them, it is about the officers and the old hats like you Larry, who made something of yourselves and are afraid to see your beloved institution change! No different than Whites seeing Blacks have equality. The Regiment is an oppressor and a remover of freedom against ones will.
What we have is an institution which removes civil rights, abuses young men, abuses the power of the law, is essentially outside the law in many circumstances and above all costs tax payers money.
I would ask all men of the Bermuda Regiment to consider this, if you disagree with being there, simply walk out !! How can they arrest us all?? Your willingness to allow them to take valuable hours of your life is a crime, FIGHt AGAINST IT! WALK OUT OF CAMP!!
I quote Einstein, (a smarter man than any Bermudian regimental officer);
“It is debasing human dignity to force men to give up their life, or to inflict death against their will, or without conviction as to the justice of their action. The State which thinks itself entitled to force its citizens to go to war will never pay proper regard to the value and happiness of their lives in peace. Moreover, by conscription the militarist spirit of aggressiveness is implanted in the whole male population at the most impressionable age. By training for war men come to consider war as unavoidable and even desirable.”
“A single, willing, professional soldier (or police officer) could be as effective as a larger number of inexperienced and often unwilling conscripts.”
Phil, the power equation does not change. A single willing professional OR part-time soldier has to apply maximum firepower. Ten soldiers whether willing or proefessional can apply less firepower. Fifty soldiers, whether willing or professional, in the right situation, may have to apply no firepower at all.
Phil, that is the absolute power equation. It does not bend to emotion or politics. The special and ultimate value of a soldier is his power to kill in the interests of the state that orders it. You see that power in Afghanistan,. You saw that power in Tivoli Gardens. The more manpower – ‘boots on the ground’ – actual persons – real live human beings – that is deployed reduces the need for firepower.
No amount of emotion changes that.
Absent a Bermudian ‘force ultimo’, there is either no force at all, or a foreign force. If a Bermuda force is required – and I believe that one is – that force needs sufficient size that it can apply low force. Make it smaller and the force power equation says that you must compensate with higher firepower. Nohing changes this. And do remember that force needs to be applied over time.
Phil, right now, the 490 person Police Force is stretched thin. Think how more thinly 50 or 150 full time willing soldiers would be stretched in an extreme situation – and extreme situations are the only situations where soldiers operate. Think about that. Think about it all….not just the personal and individual perspective. Me, Me, and Me.
There is an us. 50,000 of us.
Larru
@ 5 Mr. Wells, your so off base it looks like you have a view of the past.
Fire Derpartment, in a way yes.
Police? Volunteers?
I happen to agree with Larry in some respects. Your new to the island.
You were not here when our Fathers and Grand Fathers had to defend this island nation because of a lack of British Forces.
Your pen is very fluid but your ink is not from the era when conscription was required.
So we all join St. Johns Ambulance, The Reserves, Hospices just to get out of duty to our country?
We all, or should I say those that are eligable should shun the Regiment and as I stated above above just kick back and sweep streets when there is no prograhm to do so.
Sorry ole boy. You can google and do research all you want but you will never feel the fabric of the past nor why it is still in place.
Nothing personal.
Suggest you re-open your old site. Then again, snipets work best.
The key to every argument whether for or against is discipline. Why not create a junior corps in the grade schools and high schools, develop a Regiment Science program and see how many conscriptees you’ll need 10 years from now. Disciplne and a sense of service has to begin at an early age. It is better to have a soldier who has a sense of duty and honor for self and country rather than pull someone in kicking and screaming who will later desert you.
Larry,
My starting point for this debate is that conscription is illiberal, that a man should be free to choose how he contributes to his country (including having the right to not contribute to his country at all). Being illiberal, conscription should be abolished.
Thus, for me, the argument about whether the Regiment is necessary is a separate one. I don’t object to there being a Regiment. If you say that the more bodies the Regiment has the more effective it can be, then I support doing as much as possible to increase its numbers. But the end does not justify the means. There is a line somewhere that cannot be crossed. Obviously, our personal beliefs affect where we perceive that line to be.
Using a silly example to make my point, we would both agree it would be unethical to force Bermudian children to serve in the Regiment just to get the numbers up. Where we differ is that I also believe it is unethical to force grown men (and women) to do something they do not wish to do, *as long as if they do not do it, no-one else will suffer*. Even if they choose not to serve for selfish reasons, you can express your disapproval but it still does not give you the right to force them to serve. The only restrictions the state should impose on the behaviour of its citizens is that they do not cause harm to others.
You might argue that compulsion is necessary because otherwise few people would serve, the Regiment would become unviable, and in the event of a major civil disturbance innocent civilians could be hurt. I still don’t believe that would justify conscription, for two reasons. First, because there are a lot of “if”s there – there is no probable link between people refusing to serve and people getting hurt. Second, the people who refuse to serve are implicitly accepting that risk. After all, they could be the ones who end up getting hurt.
Phil
The the writer of this article and Col. Burch are biased ex-army brats and in full support of the Army no matter what. Conscription goes against one’s human rights and needs to be abolished. The Bermuda Army should endeavor to become a dynamic organization that has the ability to attract people to their organization and not rely on conscription. eg America says come get an education “Be all you can be in the Army.”
However, people would rather sit on their butts, not change while hiding behind archaic laws. They are afraid their livelihood would be challenged so they support conscription. I NEVER went and if I had a son I would support him if he did not want to go. I support the Marshal’s and BAD 100%. They are heros in my eyes just like Bill Clinton, Muhamed Ali and a long list of objectors stand firm in your beliefs !!!!!
here`s a thought: make conscription open to – and compulsory for – both men AND women. if it is good enough for the goose….
We can debate the issue until the cows come home, however, it is unlikely that minds will be changed. Conscription is lawful, like it or not!
There is a mechanism available to those who wish to have it removed.
Some people are claiming that it against their religious beliefs, which begs the question, why are our religious “leaders” silent on the issue?
What is more interesting is the deafening silence on the part of our Members of Parliament!
So I survived three years in the regiment. And yes fellas I am one of those sissy boys that you all think you are tougher and stronger than. But you poor fellas think that your human rights are being transgressed and taken away. Please, if you do not want to serve, that is marvelous. But make sure that you keep your names and addresses current with the proper authorities so that when we have a hurricane of Emily or Fabian’s magnitude blow through….we would hate to waste tax payers money on cleaning up in front of your house or taking the trees out of your house. Besides you will have all that extra time to yourselves to plan for such an eventuality.
I am so tired of you whiny boys who think that your rights are so harshly taken from you. If you do not wish to contribute to Bermuda as a whole, please do not take scholarships or any monies given by this country. Do not accept a housing allowance, a sponsorship for sports or education. Unless you are willing to give back to this country for a small moment in your life, do not stand there licking your chops with your hand out expecting that someone should give to you
Right on, bdaguy. I’m sick to death of people milking the system for all they can instead of doing their share to make Bermuda a better place. You are absolutely right. And really, regiment is little more than boy scouts with rifles rather than a militia of badass killaz. It’s a dose of service and discipline, just not on one’s own terms. If it didn’t exist, do you really think the majority of young men would choose to serve Bermuda in another way? And running a marathon counts as service to one’s country??? I just don’t get that one at all, from whomever stated it in this comments section. That’s the freedom to pursue a healthy pastime, maybe even serve as a role model, but serving your country through running? Um, no. I don’t think Bermuda’s better off because a would-be conscript can run a marathon. Please. I may be female, but I serve and continue to serve in volunteer organizations and the like- where the overwhelming majority of fellow volunteers are women. Nothing could be worse for our young men than absolving them once again of another responsibility.
I am a current serving soldier in the Regiment. I have seen in recent weeks since BAD lost their case that BAD has resorted to mudslinging. I am not going to defend conscription as conscription as I do not believe in it. I do however believe all Bermudians must give back to their country in some way.
BAD seems to think the blame falls on the Regiment for conscription well this is sheer ignorance on their part. I know many officers and soldiers would like to see conscription go away and make the Regiment a professional force. Unfortunalty this will not happen because of the current government.
Did you know the government cut the Regiment budget 3 times this year alone? So ask yourself how is the Regiment supposed to attract people if it doesn’t have the money to modernize?
The answer is it won’t, to me and others it seems the current government won’t help the Regiment as let’s face it why should they give the Regiment the resources it needs to modernize when they can conscript the needed manpower. To me the government uses conscription has a crutch not to give the Regiment the support it needs.
It is the government that controls conscription the Regiment just uses it by law. It is the government that controls the money so controls what the Regiment can do as he who has the gold makes the rules.
Also I think the Regiment has been more then nice to BAD differing them till the case was over. BAD members were given a tribunal to make their case but didn’t show up as they had no time to prepare which is silly as they have had years to make their case. Also another fact the tribunal to defer a soldier from service is an independent body that the Regiment has no control over. The blatant attempts by BAD to slander the Regiment dose them no credit.
Well said SoldierS, but the mud slinging will probably only get worse, my advice to you is to continue serving our beautiful island with pride, march on young man.
Many points were made back and forth and here are the key issues that it boils down to at the end of the day.
1) Necessity vs. Morality – Whenever someone says “it is morally wrong to force a man to give up his time”, the answer is always “well Bermuda needs the service”.
It is somehow seen as selfish to devote one’s time to things other than the regiment.
I am a recruit of 2011. The regiment takes up my thursday evenings, pulling me away from my job. But it’s more than personal. Thursdays was the day I had previously set aside to work with a youth choir at my church because no other day during the week would work. That project has been put on hold indefinitely. But of course, it is “selfish” of me to resent the fact that I have to be at camp?
For the “old-timers” who talk about the riots of the late 70′s, why don’t you cast your rusty minds back to those riots and tell me what the regiment did to end the riots… NOTHING. In fact, as was recently reminded to the recruits during riot training, the only thing that turned the rioters away was the rain. The presence (and training) of the Bermuda Regiment did nothing to stop the rioting.
I’ll also echo the sentiment expressed previously. If there was a real riot situation, you can bet your last dollar that many recruits of the regiment would not show up and accept whatever charge her majesty’s government levies against them. The regiment forces young men to take up arms for a cause they do not believe in and to put their lives at risk because the government said so. If there is ever such a situation, you can be sure that you won’t find me on any front line. My allegiance is not to any crown (or cap badge for that matter). My allegiance is to protect my family, and I would not be the only one.
Conscription has also had deeper impacts on Bermuda society. Many a young man has moved off the island and not returned, simply to avoid being conscripted. The biggest problem with that is the brightest minds and most potentially beneficial young men for Bermudian society feel that they have no choice but to abandon the country that they have a right to call home.
The Bermuda regiment is a joke and a gigantic sham.
They stress discipline but ask any past serving member of the regiment and they will all tell you that the Regiment’s real motto is “Hurry up and wait”. How do you teach discipline by making a bunch of men run around and bust their tails just to sit there doing nothing and awaiting orders? The administration and leadership of the regiment is piss-poor, and very often we as recruits are left standing around waiting for something or someone. They want us to be prepared and disciplined, but the administration is rarely prepared or disciplined.
At the end of the day, the idiots in the higher brass of the regiment and the government all slide through the pathetic loophole that soldiers are getting paid to get around the accusation that regimental service is tantamount to slavery.
Truthfully, it’s not slavery. It’s indentured servitude.
The “debt” that each young man is born with to his country is paid off after his 3 years are done, at which point he has fulfilled his obligation and can go free.
The main difference is that indentured servants VOLUNTEERED themselves to that agreement, with the benefit to them being that they could often escape poverty and enjoy a better life as a result of their service.
The regiment falls somewhere between indentured servitude and slavery.
Because I was born a male in Bermuda, it was decided for me that I would have to be there. It was not through any choice of my own. You can mud-sling and call me selfish all you want, but I have no obligation to be a soldier. I agree that every person has a MORAL responsibility to give back to the community they live in, but conscription makes it a LEGAL responsibility, and immediately nullifies any moral attachment to the service.
There is no merit earned or moral stature deserved if one serves his country because he is forced to do so under fear of imprisonment. It does a disservice to those who actually did give their lives in the defence of Bermuda’s freedom in the REAL good old days (War time, 1940′s) to force people to do what they did and pretend it’s the same.
There is no excuse for conscription in times of peace. The regiment does no actual peace-keeping, nor does it have any practical relevance. For the amount that is paid to all the different companies of the regiment, they could pay a full-time platoon to do full training. They could get the rifle training, as well as boats and coast guarding, KP’s, VCP’s and all the acronyms the regiment wants.
As long as conscription keeps the numbers up, the regiment has no requirement to treat their men with dignity or to make it anything worth going to. The truth of the matter is, it’s a question of accountability. If there was no conscription, the regiment would be completely accountable for everything they do, otherwise nobody would go. If taking away conscription strips the regiment of every member, that means that it’s more than some social problem of kids being raised selfishly. It means that the regiment is such a collossal waste of time that nobody would ever willingly be associated with it. That’s closest to the truth.
I will complete my service, because I have no choice in the matter.
But some day in my lifetime, conscription will end. It is my dream that it ends before my son is faced with the violation of his human rights just as his father and grandfather were.
The fact that our government (and community) still endorses conscription almost makes me ashamed of being a Bermudian. Moral ignorance is the order of the day in this country, and it is not easily uprooted. It’s particularly depressing that an island of predominantly blacks supports an institution that is so akin to the oppression of rights that brought us to this part of the world in the first place.
“Hurry up and Wait” MY ASS. I now go back to counting down the days until my freedom. 3 years left to go. The simple fact that I have to wait to be free is a travesty