Regiment Recruit Intake Decreased
The Bermuda Regiment will be holding Enlistment Nights this evening [Oct.4] and tomorrow evening in preparation for Recruit Camp 2012.
The upcoming Camp will have 80 recruits, half the 160 recruits there were the previous year.
Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, Lt. Col. Brian Gonsalves said that “economics play a significant part”, and that a high percentage of soldiers want to continue serving past their mandatory service time so they do not need as many recruits.
The Regiment is committed and keen to enlist volunteers before those who have been conscripted, said the Commanding Officer.
Lt. Col. Brian Gonsalves said, “We have already received a significant number of volunteers, male and female, from across the community. This is excellent for the Regiment and we are really pleased to see it. We expect Recruit Camp 2012 to be significantly different from previous years. First, it will be much smaller and secondly it will have a greater number of volunteers.”
“Economics have dictated that as a battalion we need to reduce the overall number of soldiers. Because a high percentage of soldiers want to continue serving past their mandatory service time we will not need as many recruits.”
When asked what has contributed to this increase in re-enlistment, Lt. Col. Brian Gonsalves said, “I think it is twofold: economics play a significant part, but it is also a sign of the times.”
“Our pay is competitive; a recruit will make almost $1000 per week when in camp and all of their expenses are paid: food, lodging, clothing, so nothing comes out of their pocket. In addition to this basic pay and entitlements, once a soldier is trained he or she has the opportunity to earn bonuses and learn new skills.”
When asked what he meant by, “a sign of the times” Lt. Col. Brian Gonsalves responded, “The Regiment has made some significant changes and continues to develop into a modern Service. Long gone are the images that a lot of the public hold onto; all of the training contributes to making the men and women of the Regiment operationally effective.”
“We have put a great deal of work into focussing on what does the Bermudian society need from us? The answer is a capable Regiment of professionally trained soldiers that can work independently or with our sister services in times of need. ”
“I think a lot of people still see us as a parade unit. However, that is one small part of the truth; the soldiers on parade are doing that as a secondary duty. What you see on a parade are smartly dressed, well drilled medics, boat handlers, chefs, engineers, musicians, logisticians, administrators and host of other trade specialists.”
The Bermuda Regiment will be holding its annual enlistment nights this evening [Oct.4] as well as tomorrow. Those names that have been published and those who want to volunteer for service starting in January 2012 are required to report to Warwick Camp to register for duty as follows:
- Surnames beginning A – P: 6:00pm, 4th October 2011
- Surnames beginning Q – Z: 6:00pm, 5th October 2011
Enlistees are required to bring a valid passport; social security number; and personal bank details.
Can anyone explain to me why they have called up 1000 + young men in the Bermuda Sun to report for Duty both this evening and tomorrow? How does that make any sense and how much does it cost to process these guys if they eventually will not be serving.
250 of those are new recruits, 800 were previously deferred.
If I were you guys I would not turn up you’re a needle in a haystack.
DONT GO!
@ Seevey S, Its hurricane season let mother nature huff N A puff a little harder to find your house in ruins, you’d surely see what the regiment can do… Then you’d change you mind-set on how you feel why their called….
So you wish my house in ruins so the regiment actually have something to do? I have lived in Bermuda for 35 years, been through many hurricanes and never needed the regiment once. Happy to do it all myself and with the help of my friends.
On the other hand I hope your house is ripped from the ground by a tornado and thrown into the sea so you can wait for the regiment to help sitting in your hole in the ground.
Stevey, I agree with you regarding needing the regiment assistance for hurricanes. I think that if you wish to volunteer then do so. Stop recruiting family men with huge responsibilities.
typical childish response. being at least 35 years of age you surely have seen that the regiment are needed to clear the roads after hurricanes, and EVERYONE needed that. thats CheapSkates point.
Typical!? why can W&E not clear roads in a hurricane? Especially in a recession people need overtime hours. If the regiment was so great why is it not full time and professional. The answer is! It is easier to FORCE people into Labour and pay them less.
You would be surprised at what the regiment soldiers get paid. i, for one, appreciated it when regiment helped clear the roads. oh, and regiment is full time and you can make a proffesional career out of it. i did my 3 yrs. It helped me develope into a more responsible man. also, added to my CV, has helped me get a great job. you meet and make a lot of life long friends and can network with more people. i made some really good friends in regiment, and that has fully benefitted me since. i say to the men being recuruited, do it. its good for you. there are a lot of horror stories, none (other than swearing) have i ever witnessed. since when was a little hard work and discipline bad for someone? no i agree, if you are a young man, family, own your own business, then the regiment should defer you. other than that….JUST DO IT
I agree that the regiment is good as they lend assistance when there are disasters. What I cannot understand is why men who own businesses, have a family, and are already discipline made to serve?
Oh what irony is that statement Stevey……”needle ina haystack”…….
Thats the attitude of many in Bermuda…….’a speck in the Atlantic’……..
Time for my injection……………………………
That’s the problem with some of you Bermudians mindset. How can you say one is free when you have no choice but to serve in this regiment? Why is Bermuda the only country that has conscription?
bermuda isnt the only country that has conscription. there are 35 other countries that still have mandatory military service, although some of them offer and alternative, non-combatant or non-military service options.
dude loads of countries still have conscription..most Scandinavian countries do, Germany just got rid of it though. Iran, Iraq all those countries have mandatory conscription.. Bermuda is not alone in this, but we should be fighting for an end to militaries…if there were none then there is no need for war
i agree
@ Stevey S….if you do not know the process, stop making yourself look like an a** and shut the hell up!!
What process, calling up 1000 men! asking them to strip naked so some officers can get their jollies off! and then making them sign their Civil Liberties away, so they can be abused for 2 weeks and a further 3 years and 2 months.
I have done my time, I know the Bull Sh!te that goes on at warwick camp. They could not organise a piss up in a brewery up there!
DONT GO CONSCRIPTS! only 12.5% of you will end up in the Regiment! Take your chances! How could they possibly find 1000 people if no one turned up!
@ Stevey S is an idiot and has no clue what he is talking about….
@1minute…I agree with you! He was probably one of the few who made it difficult for himself. I was an army wife for many years and i DO know the process of certain things….maybe he got his “jollies” during the physical!! LOL
I’m with you on that Stevey because honestly I am normally reasonable person but conscription is BS.
you font get naked. your in boxers for the medical. like being in a swimsuit
want to save some money? get rid of this lot….talk about a waste of funds
Navin- To determine that something is a waste, you would first, have to have a means of quantifying its impact. How exactly did you come to the conclusion that the Regiment costs more than it contributes to our society?
What has the regiment done so far this year for the public?
NOTHING
What did the Regiment do last year?
CUT TREES FOR ONE DAY after IGOR
1 day’s service to the public in 2 years = $16m @ $8m per year
How many families could you feed with that money, how many kids could you foster?
Conclusion is that it is a waste of money and it also breaches basic human rights
If that is your only metric for its social benefit then that is incomplete and lacking. Perhaps, even you would agree that you view is too narrow.
What is its social benefit, weapons training for our young men?
You are avoiding the point that I am raising and I understand why. My thing is, I don’t mind if people simply don’t like the Regiment but don’t throw up partial arguments and then not defend the partial argument you offered. No worries though.
Wow, we really spend that much each year for the regiment. All the regiment really need is a solid 100 soliders and I’m sure that they can get those numbers through volunteers.
I absolutely agree with you Stevey. Those millions could feed hungry people.
DJ- The Regiments budget is no where near that. Please don’t readily believe whatever you read and allow that to form you opinion. The Regiments budget is approx 1.5M. “Steve S” overstated it by about 400%, which is a clear indicator that he doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Idiot!! That is the annual wage budget! DO you think that the regiment with 360 people, feeds, houses, conducts month long training trips, weapons, ammo, equipment, vehicles, boats, fuel and wages the list goes on equates to less than 5k per person.
http://bernews.com/2011/02/full-statement-201112-budget/
Read the budget statement for this year.
Defence budget is estimated @ circa $8.3m- this is solely allocated to the regiment and it’s processes.
Yes I do know what I am talking about.
October 5, 2011 at 4:26 pm
“Steve S”- IT didn’t do anything for you because you chose that it would do nothing for you. Simple. I’ll be willing to bet that you have the same story in almost every area of your life
With respect to the budget, we were both wrong. you are just more wrong than me.
See the Link below;
“More than $1 million in budget cuts at the Bermuda Regiment will hit both local training operations and wages.
According to the Budget, released on Friday, total budgeted wages at the Regiment are expected to fall from $2.9 million in 2010/11 to $1.7 million in 2011/12″
http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110224/NEWS09/702249969/-1/news
I’m game Truth what does it contribute to our society? Perhaps we should first determine what it costs and then determine if it is a waste..if its free its not a waste….if it costs several millions a year its a waste…
Hey Navin- you made a comment that the Regiment is a waste of money (which is fine). I asked you what metrics are you using to determine that it is a waste? They question you posed to me is the very question that you need to answer. Weighing what the contributions are vs the cost. At the moment, I don’t think that you have done that analysis and if you did, what other parameters did you use to come to your conclusion?
I dont know the exact figure for the Regiment budget but I thought it was somewhere around 1.5M maybe less and definitely not more than 2M.
If your judgements is based on your gut feel, that’s cool but I’d like to know that, if that is the case.
Thanks for responding.
Truth I’m not sure what your point is..you are asking for metrics to determine if it is waste….my metric was in my statement back to you…I said I am not sure what it contributes…I will rephrase and say the metric is that it contributes nothing and costs $1.5 or $8million as someone suggests….so , to me, the metric is that it contributes nothing and the money could be better spent on other things…ok it is a tradition but so what….Bermuda is under no threat of attack and if they were I do not believe that what I have seen of the regiment would do anything….A few serious types get to play soldier and the rest are there against their will. By background I volunteered and spent 6 years in the US Army during wartime so leave the regiment to the volunteers and see what you have….Thanks for asking….
My point is this- You said the Regiment is a waste of money. I wanted to know what you used to come to that conclusion. What was it based on? You spelled it out a little better in your last response;
1. The money could be spent on better things
2. Bermuda is under no threat
3. People are there against their will
There are a few things that your considerations ignore. The Regiment is one of the few Organizations that the Government touches where the money is actually spent on what it is supposed to be spent on. For the small budget that they work with the result is pretty amazing. By way of comparison the Police Budget is something like 80M and the force is not without its issues (Not complaining about the Police).
Disaster recovery still remains a key area for Bermuda. The Regiments last push was during Hurricane Fabian. If the island wide clean up was left to the Government workers (who get paid overtime by the hour) How long do you suppose the clean up would have taken? And by entension, how do you suppose the cost would have been to the Government (and you)? I was there and I can tell you of a certainty that Government workers were complaining about the speed with which the Regiment soldiers were working and that we were “taking all of their overtime”. That’s a fact.
The other point I would like to address is the fact that no entity or individual can properly assess the social impact of the Regiment. It is hard to measure the social benefit that the following actions have on our society;
1. Giving homeless soldiers (young men) a place to stay when they have none.
2. Providing jobs at the Regiment (when possible) for soldiers who are out of work and in many cases unemployable.
3. The social counseling that is given to the troops from the Regiment volunteers (may of whom are professionals), on their own time.
4. All of the private sector job “hook ups” that come by way of the Regiment
5. Job training and social skills
6. I am cutting it short here but there are MANY more things that happen in WC besides the Military training and besides what gets reported.
I’ll leave it with this, It is easy to declare a thing is a waste and of no benefit when we are blind to what progresive Bermudians are actually doing up there. Many Bermudians (young and old) have benefitted from the services provided by the Regiment and all for the bargain price of approx 1.5M.
We need to careful how we reason things out as we may (pardon the pun), shoot ourselves in the foot.
Best to you
where do I sign up and do you have an age limit for an old soldier…we never die you know we just fade away
The Regiment can always use a few more good men. I am sure they would welcome your experience.
Again, you have the budget numbers all wrong! You don’t know what you are talking about. It does not cost $1.5m a year to run the regiment it costs approx $8.3m.
I was not , homeless, jobless or in need of counseling so why was I forced into the Bermuda Regiment against my will? It did nothing for me, you talk about the very few it does good for but the majority do not need help. Is our society so bad that without the Bermuda Regiment we would socially collapse? What about the young men that are not called up! Your argument has no weight, make it a smaller professional force and give the money to social services. Stop clinging to your precious little institution that has no value.
“Steve S”- IT didn’t do anything for you because you chose that it would do nothing for you. Simple. I’ll be willing to bet that you have the same story in almost every area of your life
With respect to the budget, we were both wrong. you are just more wrong than me.
See the Link below;
“More than $1 million in budget cuts at the Bermuda Regiment will hit both local training operations and wages.
According to the Budget, released on Friday, total budgeted wages at the Regiment are expected to fall from $2.9 million in 2010/11 to $1.7 million in 2011/12″
http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110224/NEWS09/702249969/-1/news
Question to you. Have you ever served in the regiment? I guessing probably not because you will be able to confirm that because there’s so many recruits it’s been many occassions where we just sat around and did nothing.
A total waste of Bermuda’s hard earned money.
DJ- I have actually. Probably longet than you did. Is there time wasting? Yes. Every organization wastes time, that’s a fact of life. The question under discussion is, How do you quantify the social impact that the Regiment has and by extention, how are you coming to the conclusion that it is a waste?
I have been in the army also, so they defiantly wasted time up there. No efficiant organization wants to waste time and is proud of it, for how many years the army is been in operation there was way to much time wasting. The army can defiantly save money by not sending the whole company on trips that is a waste of tax payors money. They can recevie all the training they need in Bermuda. To go live in the Bush in Jamaica or North Carolina for 2 weeks is a waste of time.
You cannot do conventional training in Bemuda. Our landscape doesn’t allow for it. That’s why they travel overseas. Whether you think it is necessary or not is a matter of opinion. I agree with you on the time wasting.
First dey take ya pride den dey take ya money. Wat u need my bank details fa!?!?! GTFOH
To pay you. SOP with many employees’ first days, don’t know what the problem is. I have my landlord’s bank details so I can easily pay my rent. My boss has my details so I can be paid on time and without having to waste paper (money and time, too) on cutting a cheque.
@bermyshotta
they need your bank details because you get paid for being in the regiment. Read the article. People stop being so negative and judgmental. The regiment isnt perfect, no organization is, but they it is a good place for discipline and learning trades. And apart from some bad eggs, there are some great friendships that come out of this organization.
Bermyshotta I think I’m going to comment on everyone’s comment including yours because somethings are right and some things are wrong. Conscription is definately “WRONG”. If there’s anyone including lawyers who would like to argue this be my guest please…
However, I agree with you @Bermyshotta regarding the regiment not being perfect and you build great friendships, but on the other hand I don’t think the regiment should conscript men especially those that need to be present to operate their business and take care of their families. Why not recruit the ones causing havoc on this island? Oh, the excuse the regiment uses is that they need a good mix of good and bad.
If the regiment could change a thugs life how great of an achievement that would be?
Bermuda like many countries has tradition. We must not loose that for the sake of saving a few dollars. Many soldies died in the wars we took part in so don’t through it out the window. Conscription does not play a major role in this new developement.
The Regiment performs many functions with regard to support and backup.
I think it’s a great idea as stated.
Sorta like getting rid of half the Cabinet Ministers and Heads of Departments. Could save millions.
Anyway, when the s%it hits the fan and the Police need back up just call London like they did in the 60-70′s and see the cost for which we cannot afford.
Kudo’s to the Men and Women that wish to stay and t the volunteers.
@Terry….Ditto..
This is one of the silliest posts I’ve ever read. Tradition is more important than utilizing money in a way that could better serve our community? You have obviously never been poor/hard up. You’re one of those Bermudians that has seen nothing but prosperity on this tiny island and have no concept of the real world. My only consolation is that a world of hurt is coming towards BDA in the form of economic ruin and you clowns will soon be in a similar situation to the rest of the island nations out there. Lets hear you supporting a useless government organization when your in a line waiting for bread and soup in 5 years time. I can NOT wait ’till I’ve reaped all I can from this joke of an island and can return home.
*throw
Well TERRY news flash…People carry guns now and trust me these soldiers are not trained to handle serious riots. All regiment has are shields and blanks in their rifles.
We have a gun problem in this country so soldiers are useless here.
There’s no way more than half of the regiment would show up if called to stop a riot.
@ Steven S, thank you for speaking the truth. The two people calling you names and telling you to shut up, more than likely have not be forced into military duty, so they can talk big behind their computer screens, unlike you who has served. The Bermuda Regiment is necessary for disaster relief, and assisting in alleviating some of the pressure off the Bermuda Police service, they do NOT need to be forcing law biding and decent young members of the community in the regiment against their will, with the threat of prosecution or jail, that is INHUMANE! Anyone who believes otherwise should volunteer themselves. The paid volunteers can do just as good a job as conscripts…
Did 5 years….as a volunteer….the regiment is what you make it! I had a ball – yeah sometimes it got rough, but that is army life. You are not forced to do anything…you have a choice of companies…how far you want to go within the military life…But unfortunately with negative fire breathing dragons like you, not too many wish to volunteer their services. Have you done your time?? If not YOU go volunteer! Oh and by the way I am a female…..that was married to another soldier who volunteered and has been there 20+ years!!
You’re absolutely right, I’ve never volunteered, & NEVER will. If you and your spouse had a blast marching, doing drills, and shooting weapons, then more power to you. But you did mention that you VOLUNTEERED, whereas young men like myself don’t have this option as it is MANDATORY for us. Google the definition of volunteer as apposed to mandatory and let me know what you get. And I will continue to be a “negative fire breathing dragon” as long as my government continues to infringe on my freedom of choice with the threat of prosecution or jail time….
You know for as long as I can remember army has been mandatory….my point is I never heard any complaints during the ’68 and ’73 riots when the regiment was out trying to keep us safe. If you are going to depend on volunteers, we are doomed cause there are never enough. Bermuda has become a small scale Jamaica or Harlem, if you will. When the sh*t does hit the fan, please, please do not depend on the BPS! One more thing, there is more to army life then drills, and shooting weapon. Maybe you need to visit Warwick Camp next open house and see what it is really all about….not hear say, but see for yourself! I dare you…if you still the same way, that will be your opinion and I and other will respect that!
If there was a riot how many conscripts would turn up to fight their brothers an cousins? YOU live in a jaded world because of your military career. You have been brainwashed, hence why military personel are usually no good to society other than in the army. They think everything should run like their own structured coersive little worlds. Kind of like you!!!! The regiment is far from a proper Army, in a combat situation no one would stand a chance. To put it in perspective as full time Officer in the regiment is the equivelent to a Catlin end to end walker but calls themselves a marathon runner. They think they are something they are not and are far from being close to.
The world is a bigger place than the Bermuda Regiment. But people like you think it is the world.
Where you in the Band?
LOL
Wow, someone who has common sense in this conversation. Enough said N/a.
It’s a b!tch our posts cross over.
I need a rum…..
TO ALL YOU NEW CONSCRIPTS DON’T TURN UP AND NEVER SIGN ANYTHING! Your future is in your own hands. In the end what is the worse that could happen, they find you and make you go which is what you will end up doing anyway.
DONT TURN UP!!! THEY CANNOT FIND 1 IN 1000 PEOPLE.
Done your time, huh, SS?? Probably not but if you did you were probably one of those that we’ve all read about in the press. You know, fined/jailed for skipping parades, etc. You’re just a light-weight anarchist, ace boy!!
YEP I DID IT! IT WAS A WASTE OF MY LIFE SO NOW I AM OUT I WILL ENCOURAGE EVERYONE NOT TO GO!
BTW I WIPE MY A## HOLE WITH A MANCHESTER UNITED SHIRT EVERY MOURNING!
If you are going to be so rude and vulgar, the least you could do is learn to spell ‘morning’.
I am sure my message came across very clear this ‘morning’. Next time I need my school work marked I will give you a call!
Do not call me. You are beyond help. And no, your message made no sense at all. But why am I not surprised? The Regiment is, no doubt, a better place with you not there.
Regiment taught me how to be vulgar and rude. What I said was tame in comparison to what these young recruits will learn.
Didn’t teach ME to be rude & vulgar. Guess you’ve always been that way….and alway will be. Gwan ganster boy!!
What I see here is a few with no national pride trying to past on the same sentiment to the younger folk. Most young people do not know what’s good for them until they experience something and take the positive from it as a lesson learnt. What harm is there in commitment to something as opposed to nothing. And for those young folk that are doing something with their lives; where is the loss in doing something for your country. I truely do not see the issue with conscription! You are getting paid to join and not to mention the life lessons and friendships that would not be if not for this experience.
*pass on* sp?
If you believe in it so much, why don’t you volunteer?! Put your money were your mouth is…
If constructive things were actually being done in the Regiment, what you said could possibly ring true. However, this is not the case. The amount of time I’ve spent just sitting around waiting for orders on a week-night and on a Saturday is ridiculous. And what makes this worse is, though I gladly accepted the free money at the pay-parade, I would have been much happier if I had the time that was wasted back.
You are right though, you do learn life lessons while in the Regiment. You learn that you should not waste your time doing things you do not want to do. Life is short, and time is all you have. Three years and two months of time is priceless.
But thank you “Bermuda is truely another world…(SMDH)” for giving me your hard earned tax money for free… Most of that money went to buying that sticky-icky too… just thought you should know
Co-sign..free money
Still Not Going
They Only Need 80 people and I wont be one of them this year
Free $$$. January hide n seek. Bang!
im afraid you make no sense…’getting paid to join’…PLEASE, i aint joining, im being forced to, thats not joining that’s un democratic conscription to an organisation based on old world views in which militaries were a must. how can we call ourselves civilised yet we still train each other to kill others…smh
im with Uni Grad..i just finished as well, my talents are better spent in making bermuda a better place, and marching around looking pretty won’t help one bit
The way things are going the regiment might go under by 2013.
I’ve already found a place to hide. > : )
The Regiment was a waste of time & money 30 years ago when I did my time & it is even more so today.
Mandatory comunity service is not a waste ot time & everyone should have to do a spell. There are plenty of organizations which could use help.
Most anywhere you go the Fire Service is at least part volunteer. Used to be here in Bermuda. The Police Reserves always use extra people. St Johns Ambulance, youth organizations, seniors homes, even a much reduced in size Regiment consisting of the band & a group for ceremonial duty.
At 18 years old, finished school, take your pick of service you would like to give. Don’t pick one yourself??? Something will be found for you to do like pick up trash along the streets.
Keeping the Regiment for hurricane cleanup is a complete waste. The local landscaping companys can do it in half the time & half the people though putting oneself on standby for such relief should be part of the community service options
Clearly the powers that be in the government are interested in maintaining the status quo by having a reserve force here in Bermuda. Unfortunately the management is such that we spend the majority of our time sitting around waiting to be told what to do. While in the regiment you get to learn such valuable lessons as:
– it is better to ask forgiveness than permission
– if you do a half assed job, someone else will be assigned your responsibility
– if you don’t go nobody is going to come find you
– time served in a position is more important that ability or skill when it comes to promotions
Obviously I am biased against the regiment. I feel that is weighs very negatively on my job, which I am usually in the office until 7:00 each weeknight (I’m one of those Jonny’s who is trying to train and study so that one day I can have Sven’s job…. you know, working hard to be successful) and having to take time away from work and studies to go and sit in camp for a few hours, or even worse, for two weeks once a year is negatively affecting my JOB. My real job, the one that pays my bills and will one day allow me to support a family. While my employer would never say anything against the regiment nobody is enamored at those of us who have to ditch work in order to prance around like a 6 year old in a GI Joe costume. While the regiment has repeatedly claimed that they will protect me from unjust job loss, there is nothing to stop my boss from moving my job to the States, where it could be done just as easily, for much less money (we are in a recession you know, 25 million people are out of work… and want jobs).
BUT…. hear me out you regiment supporters, I am trying to please everyone here. I have had some valuable experiences while in Warwick Camp. Mainly through the people I have met there who I would not have crossed paths with otherwise and that is important for the future of our country. As Burch said, it is the ultimate equalizer. So my time has not been all bad, but claiming that it has made me more disciplined, or that I have been “serving” my country is egregiously false.
So what I am thinking is that we should come to some sort of compromise on this issue. One that allows the Governor to still wear his silly hat once a year for parades, and actually allows young Bermudians to address some of the issues on this little island. Here is what it is:
Keep Regiment recruitment in. Make the first year mandatory, paid. (you know, teach us all discipline, have a parade about it, hurricane clean up etc…..)
After your first year, you have two options
1. Continue with your regiment service for the remaining time, Paid of course
2. Choose between one of a few volunteer opportunities that would be unpaid and the same amount of hours as the regiment… two could be KBB (cleaning up our beaches, it’s not glamorous work but it may change the littering habits of our island and tourists would be impressed with the cleanliness) and some form of free tutoring service on weeknights. We have some student from the best colleges in the world currently in the regiment, could we not use that to help some students in Bermuda who are struggling for free? The best part of these two activities is that they could be run through Warwick Camp so the powers that be could check people in and ensure that everyone is doing their part.
3. If you fail to meet your voluntary requirements, you go back and finish you time at the regiment, unpaid.. Obviously you don’t need the money if you choose to volunteer, but you do need some form of discipline.
4. Automatic exemption for anyone doing any studying… I doesn’t matter what you are leaning, it could be basket weaving, any form of study will help this island forward so any incentive to go back to learning should be rewarded.
Maybe I am way off base with these suggestions…
Good points on both side of the coin Serving….biased but objective! wish there were more people like you. the army has a bad old shadow around it like the UBP or PLP (OBA doesn’t count as they are brand new)….no matter what anyone does, the PLP/UBP have a legacy that precedes them forevermore no matter how much good either will do.
again great points…maybe the “biggas” might take your ideas!!
Good points, hopefully someone is paying attention.
no one ever reads these comments, and by no one i mean the ‘powers that be’…its too hard for our island leaders to pay attention to the cries and woes of the general public, who voted them in…i say it again, Bermuda is one of the must undemocratic countries in the world, PERIOD