Two Men Charged: Regimental Matters
21-year-old Bermuda Regiment soldier Private Romone Smith this morning [Jan.31] pleaded guilty in Magistrates Court to two charges that had been sent up to Magistrates Court by the Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment.
Pte Smith was given two sentences of three months imprisonment, which were to run concurrently. However, Senior Magistrate Archie Warner suspended the two sentences for eighteen months, telling the soldier: “If you follow the rules, you have nothing to worry about. But if you play the fool, then this Court will deal with you.”
DPP Prosecutor Susan Mulligan read into evidence that, as a man of the Regiment, Pte Smith had failed to comply with a Regimental order to complete five extra duties; and that, on thirteen occasions, he had disobeyed orders to attend for training. These two charges were placed under the Defence Act, 1965.
The Magistrate was told that Pte Smith, who had commenced service in December 2009, had only completed a total of 54 drills in the two years that he had already served although the minimum that he had been required to do was 80 drills in that same timeframe; and that he had a history of absences that had commenced in 2010.
In his defence, Pte Smith said that he had called Warwick Camp several times and had left voicemail messages. Pte Smith admitted that he had not followed up on his calls. Pte Smith also said that he been sick with the stomach flu and could not produce the required medical certificate because at the time, he had no job, no insurance, and no doctor; and that he saw no sense in turning up without a medical certificate because he knew that the Regiment would ask for one.
Magistrate Warner pointed out that if he had failed to turn up for an ordered Court appearance and claimed that he had been sick; that he too, as Magistrate, would ask for reasonable proof.
Also in Plea Court this morning was 27-year-old Lamont Winslow Marshall. Mr Marshall was charged with failing to pay a June 2011 $500 fine that been levied on him by the Bermuda Regiment’s Commanding Officer. Mr Marshall also faced a second charge of disobeying an order to attend at the Bermuda Regiment on 6th January 2012. He pleaded not guilty to both.
The Magistrate noted that he had never seen a person is prosecuted in his court for failing to pay a fine to the Commanding Officer, and that it seemed to be an internal matter.
Following a short discussion on Court powers in relation to the Defence Act, 1965 and the powers of a Civil Court, Magistrate Warner adjourned the Marshall case until Tuesday 7th February 2012.
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I don’t know about you guys, but
i certainly feel much safer known this guy has been punished…
Stay strong Marshall.
Get your “I’m a B.A.D. Man t shirts now.
Support the cause.
I sure hope marshall’s case isn’t being fought by the tax payer via legal aid…..Do your time like everyone else marshall or go St. John’s Ambulance, Police, or fire services. Or get a college scholarship and go away for 4 -6 years, come back with a masters degree in something that will keep you out of the service.
Why is it that everyone acts like the only thing males can do for Bermuda is join the regiment. GET A Life!!! How I honestly feel is that people who represent our country in whatever event should be exempt from regimental duties for the duration that they continue to represent us. If Lamont decided to do his time and decided to stop representing our country in running then it would be a sad day for Bermuda. And honetly that what I would do just for the aggravation. i would continue to train and run in my domestic races, but deny entry into any international races. He trains vigorously unlike alot of other Bermudians to maintain his fitness to run. He represents our Island for free everytime time he races. This is called NATIONAL PRIDE and I am very ashamed of how we as Bermudians treat our athletes. But everytime we expect them to act accordingly to represent are country and we treat them like dirt. I honestly believe that people should be exempted from Regimental duties if they fullfil a certain amount of events within their respected fields which represent Bermuda. I don’t entirely agree with B.A.D. because I honestly believe that someone who does not represent their country and does not do any community work should be allowed to be conscripted within the army to do their duties. This should stand for anyone within any sport. I for one would not have a problem if the Regiment couldn’t obtain enough recruits because everyone was doing something positive for our Island. And by the way, one cannot choose the option to go another route. You can apply but you would not necessarily be selected to do other initiatives like St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, Police or Fire reserves.
Be realllllllll – who are we to call when a disaster hits? where will Lamont run with trees all over the road?
Stop wasting time and money and work the Regiment system to his benefit?
Are you for real! Have you ever been to the army? I have had maybe 3 weekends of drill for hurricane relief within my whole 3 years. Does that justify the reason to conscript a person for 3 years. Plus we as Bermudians need to provide hurricane relief, not just the regiment. I believe that is the problem because everyone expects the guys to come to your aid instead of you also helping out. All the excuses for someone to join the army is of the benifit of others. This is the reason why Mr. Marshall refers to the regiment as a slave ship. Others profitting off of mandatory labour. Why can’t everyone help out when we are in a crisis.
AGREED! So many ways to beat the system! Get a life!
The system shouldn’t need to be ‘broken’… Bermuda’s law of conscription in its current form is unjust and discriminatory so telling people to ‘get over it’/'serve your time/shut-up’ is a non-starter. If disaster relief is all the regiment offers (as most of you on here claim it does) then why not disband with the ‘regiment’ and create a volunteer ‘disaster relief corps’? Why do tree cutters need to know how to shoot a rifle, march, etc.? The regiment as a regiment serves no real purpose to Bermuda. Why don’t you get a life and make a logical argument as to why we should keep the regiment in its current state? Don’t think you’ll be able to…
I agree with ‘No.’ Can’t people see how unjust this is? How can we claim to be a free country when we take these young men (they don’t call it ‘Infantry’ for nothing) and force them to take up arms against their will? This isn’t about defense of our country! If a foreign country decided to invade us, our Regiment wouldn’t stand a chance against them so let’s get real here and stop kidding ourselves that the Regiment can defend us!
As for cleaning up after a hurricane, here’s a novel idea: how about passing a law that says in the event of a hurricane (or any disaster), every able-bodied man between the ages of 18-40 must report to ‘xyz’ in order to clear our roads, etc. Why should some guys loaf off while the unlucky suckers who got drafted into the Regiment go out and clear everything up for us? These guys have families and things they need to get done around their homes just as much as the next guy. I’m not sure how many able-bodied men would fall into that category but it has to be in the thousands. If all these guys pulled together and ‘did their duty’ just like the men in the Regiment, Bermuda would be cleaned up in no time and then everyone could move on to their own personal responsibilities. This would be fair because ALL able-bodied men would be compelled to respond, including those guys who would normally have been deferred due to being in school if the hurricane came whilst they were here on break. No male would be able to duck out and it would be fair for everyone. How about THAT?
One day we’ll look back and shake our heads at the way we are doing things now, and realize how unjust it is. Some people are criticizing the Marshalls but I believe they will go down in history just like our other national heroes. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right-us people of colour especially need to remember that. If in the past there weren’t people with courage wllling to take a stand, we’d still be sitting in the back of the bus. The Marshalls and other men of B.A.D. need to be commended-not criticized.
New “Desert Storm” Uniforms (made for Iraq): $100,000
Bermuda Regimental Salaries: $700,000
On-going Pointless Training of Soldiers: $450,000
The fact that every single one of these ‘soldiers’ would run and hide should they be sent to Iraq/Afghanistan, priceless.
We are going through one of the worst Economic recessions in history. The only way to survive is to instill a sense of Economic Nationalism and Economics 101 says to cut your losses. This joke of an army that hangout down at Warwick Camp is nothing more than a glorified hurricane relief center, so lets keep it at that. Surely Bermuda has other areas to invest in other than the current boys brigade. Education, food, electricity, ECONOMIC NATIONALISM!
Not sure where you’re getting these figures from but don’t believe for a second that the $700k in salaries is an accurate figure. Full-time staffers make up to and well over $100,000/year (and there’s more than 1-2 of them). Conscripts make ~$1000/week for two-week camps and there are currently ~220 of them… aka $450,000 just on ‘salaries’ for camps each year (assuming third years have been stood down and do not serve any camps for the year). Add in regular drill-night pay and I’m sure the regiment pays well over $1.5m a year in salaries…
…$1.5m = full university scholarships for 50-100 students/year. The regiment is a strain on building a productive society. Hurry up and wait? I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about… and that’s all they teach you up there!
Why? In this day of everyone fighting for equal rights must men be the only one forced to mandatorly “serve their country” while women do not? Another thing to ponder, think of all the money that would be saved by not having the forced enlistment of so many unwilling participants (there are enough “volunteers” to make up a drill team to still have toy soldiers for a parade. We have the Works & Engineering department to handle hurricane clean ups). Outside of marching up & down for parades & cheap labour for the rare big hurricanes what service does the regiment offer to Bermuda? The one time you think we could of used them the government of the day elected to instead rely on troops from across the pond so do you think we’re getting value for money from the existence of the Bermuda regiment in its’ present state?
I dont understand it either
Not all men, just the lucky few who have been selected to serve in the great establishment we call our regiment… How people continue to beat the drum of regimental benefits is beyond me…especially when those who have a say only feel 70 men should have the opportunity to gain all the regiment has to offer.
While I do not support mandatory enlistment in the Regiment, it annoys me when I get the argument about ‘why aren’t women forced to serve?’ First of all it sounds very whiny. As to the actual reason, there are many. Traditionally, men are the protectors and women are the nurturers-that’s just the way nature designed us. When men choose to serve their country, and go off to war, the women stay behind to take care of the offspring and the home-that’s the way it has been for generations. If the men and women both go off, who looks after the children? Should a nursing mother be dragged from her child? Forget the notion of baby formula-before it came along, if a woman was taken from her child, the child would die as the child depends on the mother for survival. It was unheard of to force a woman from her child.
Furthermore, women’s physical make-up makes it more difficult for a woman to serve in the military. I’m not saying it’s impossible, of course, since plenty of women do serve. However, think about a bunch of women in the Regiment who all have to deal with ‘Mother Nature’s little gift.’ Don’t even get into throwing a bunch of pms-ing females together, never mind a bunch with cramps-they’d tear each other’s eyeballs out! Women in the military overseas use continuous birth control so they don’t menstruate-but this is by choice. If the Regiment forced women to join, and didn’t want to deal with the inconveniences of ‘Mother Nature’s little gift’, they’d have to force the females to use continuous birth control as well and there’s no way that would happen because of the repercussions of adverse health effects.
Also, before the females started their training, the Regiment would have to administer pregnancy tests to each of them. If not and a female started her training and was pregnant, naturally there would be a very strong chance of miscarriage. Her life could actually become endangered if she had to participate in rigorous training not knowing she was pregnant. Do you think the chance of a hemorrhaging female is something they want to deal with? Furthermore, even if they administered a pregnancy test in the beginning, there’s also the chance that the female could become pregnant at any point during the training and again, that could cause serious health consequences for her. Lawsuits would be flying left, right and center at the Regiment if they caused a woman to lose her baby-or even her life.
Also, if a woman did want to get a deferment, it’s pretty easy for her to just get pregnant-over and over again if she wanted. Also, she’d have a period afterwards where she couldn’t do strenuous physical activity (especially if she needed a c-section) and she could milk it out as long as she wanted, really, by saying she wasn’t adequately recuperated yet. Plus if she needed to nurse that’s another thing that would keep her deferred-she could milk (pardon the pun)that out for about 3-4 years! Then the Regiment would have to keep following up with these females-it would just be a expensive, bureaucratic nightmare.
No disrespect to the women who do join as females do it all over the world. However, when you do it by choice you’re willing to make certain allowances. Try and force a woman to do it and it will become a nightmare as I’ve said. Also, although they would NEVER admit it, the men at the Regiment aren’t trilled to have women there. if they had their way, it would be men only-trust me on that!
@ Mayan,
So by your own words of traditional thinking then the whole equal rights movement goes out the window. By your dated thinking women would still be locked to the role of going no further then the kitchen & raising babies. Women have served in the armed forces the world over so your argument is very weak. Besides for that I said nothing of a woman having to serve in the regiment, just asked why they aren’t required to “serve their country” in ANY form (be it via St.Johns, Candy Stripper, mandatory volunteer corp, etc., who said it has to be via the regiment?).
Over all I don’t think the regiment offers good value for money in what we the tax payers pay for & get in return. Just think about it, the last major hurricane to hit that required regiment intervention was almost ten years ago now & it’s on average every ten years that we get a bad one. So outside of hurricane clean up duty (that can be taken care of by the Works & engineering department, also the average soldier in the regiment doesn’t even have hurricane relief training. It is just a hand full of the regiment that has the proper training & they supervise the rest.), the only thing in the meantime that the regiment has offered the public is a view of their band & marching soldiers at a hand full of public events every year (the band is made up via a good number of volunteers already so getting enough volunteers up to make up a march troop would be no issue). So why force individuals to fill a role that isn’t truly required especially in these economic times?
Can you not read ‘Just Wondering’ or was reading comprehension your weak subject in school? I said quite a few times that women are able to serve in the military. However, it is a fact that women are not built like men and not every woman is PHYSICALLY capable of doing the things that serving in the military entails. It’s not sexist-it’s fact.
My main point is that it is not realistic to draft women into the military-what part of that do you not understand? If a woman chooses to do this then fine-she is willing to make the adjustments necessary to carry out that role. Did you read what I said about continous birth control? Do you know what that means? I don’t want to be crass but I clearly need to spell this out in plain language for you. It means that women in the military use HORMONES to ensure that they do not get a menstrual period every month! the reason is because it is not realistic for them to stop and change sanitary napkins/tampons every few hours. No period and this is not an issue!
Imagine if a bunch of women up at Warwick Camp had to stop every few hours to attend to this, plus worry about leakage issues (again, I hate to be crass but I need to stress this point). What-she’d be in the middle of a drill and say ‘Sorry-I need to go change my pad.” It just wouldn’t work. The alternative would be for the Regiment to FORCE them to use continous birth control so that they do not menstruate! You cannot force someone to do that! If a woman chooses to, fine but you can’t force her to risk her health (it does have risks) just to stop her menstruating!
Without going into it all over again, there is also the problem of pregnancy. Again, since you are clearly slow, if a woman volunteers for service she will ensure that she doesn’t become pregnant. What is to stop a woman who is drafted? Again, if she becomes pregant and is involved in strenuous activities, it could pose a health risk.
AGAIN, I am not saying that women aren’t capable of joining the military-go back and read what I wrote! I am saying that there are differences in the way men and women are designed-that is just a fact of life! Not every woman can be forced into that type of role and that does not make her weak or inferior to a man! REALISTICALLY, there are PHYSICAL obstacles as to why you can’t DRAFT women-it just wouldn’t work for the reasons I have already stated!!!
@Just Wondering???
BTW, you do sound like a whiner. You’re clearly one of those guys who’s into the whole equal rights for women when it benefits you. Let me guess, you hate to have to pay for a woman’s meal because according to the whole ‘equal rights’ thing the woman has just as much a right to pay as the man, huh? The same for holding open doors, unsrewing tight lids on jars, lifting heavy objects, etc.-you think that women shouldn’t have to call on a man’s assistance because she wants equal rights, huh?
Yes, women are just as good as men but we still want to be cherished and protected. No woman wants a man who, if he hears a glass break downstairs, sends her down to check it out because according to the equal rights movement she should be treated like a man. Would we find that acceptable even in this day and age of equal rights for females? NO WAY!
You sound very wimpy and whiny because your original statement very much suggested that you feel women should serve their country in the same capacity as a man (in a defense role)and it’s only now that you’re backtracking by saying that you meant in other areas. If you meant that, then the whole ‘equal rights’ argument would be a moot point-you clearly meant in a defense role and you know it or why mention ‘equal rights’ at all? BUSTED!!!
@Mayan
You gave more reasons why women shouldn’t serve in the armed forces then standing on the side they should but then you drift onto the other side of the fence a bit as well (you can’t have it both ways). The reasons you give why it’s a bad idea for women to serve in the armed forces are for the most part silly since none of that has been an issue for the thousands & thousands of women who serve in the armed forces the world over (however as I have said to you already but you don’t seem to be grasping, is I am not saying nor have I said women should be forced into Warwick Camp, just that if men should have to provide service to the country then why not women in these times of equality of the sexes? Though this was only a statement to jug thought of the over all picture).
Please show me anywhere in my text that I reveal my sex, so how can I be a whiny “guy”? I assure you that I am anything but wimpy or whiny & I’ll leave you guessing my sex. All I did is state food for thought, one that obviously struck a with you (why out of my entire text are you stuck on but one sentence out of all the rest that I had written?) & has you running on & on in a rant based more on personal attacks & misinformation then fact. Personal attacks aside, I am simply saying that if men are to be forced to serve their country then why not women? However NOWHERE did I say it had to be solely via the armed forces (that is the perception YOU formed in your own mind based on the smaller topic of my original text that was just thrown out there for thought of reason but seems to be the part you’re most stuck on while missing the bigger picture) since remember men can serve their country in other forms as well outside of Warwick Camp.
With equal rights comes equal responsibilities & anyone who has come of age under their parents roof can attest to that. You wish to be treated as an adult then you must carry the burden of an adult & so it is with equal rights. However yet again I must break this down to its’ simplest form since you seem to be missing the point of my statement on men/women since it is/was a statement to provoke thought of the over all picture at hand. Don’t get caught up on the minor details & allow the major slip by you but then I guess it’s easy to miss the bigger picture when you have a small screen (not a personal attack, just saying you’re focusing your attention in the wrong direction & making something out of something that just isn’t there). So please learn to comprehend what it is you’re reading before further commenting.
JustWondering – You are incompetent aren’t you? Your knowledge and understanding of what equal rights means is totally wrong. Men and women are different physically-that’s a fact, however that does not mean we should be TREATED differently. We deserve the same respect, pay, benefits, right to work, right to vote etc which many women didn’t get because they were simply women. The regiment draft has nothing to do with that. I suggest you do some reading up and looking up what certain words mean in the dictionary as you are totally clueless as to what you are speaking of. Everyone deserves to be treated the same but women are still different from men-that’s the way they were made. Physically it would be difficult to force women to do military service-as mayan has ALREADY listed out for you the many reasons why. Your argument is also flawed because not ALL men have to serve.
You are STILL going on that her argument is silly but you are totally wrong! Yes MANY women serve around the world-WILLINGLY! Do you know what that means? LOOK IT UP! It means they PERSONALLY put themselves at a health risk! Women NATURALLY have menstrual cycles-to stop that in order to serve in armed forces you would have to take some contraception continuously, which can cause you health risk. When a women in the military decides to join she risks her health on her own! If women were forced to serve they would be FORCED(let me break it down for you, that means AGAINST THEIR WILL) to put their health at risk and their potential child should they be pregnant or get pregnant. That’s the difference. One way the person is liable for their own health and the adverse health effects the other way the country/law/armed forces would be responsible should they get hurt, lose a child, etc. Which would cause major legal problems. What part do you not understand?
Mayan did not say women should only be in the kitchen and nursing babies! You need to re-read what they said and COMPREHEND what it is you are reading!
Your original complaint was definitely that women aren’t forced to serve in the regiment like men are, don’t try and change your tune now that you were made a fool. Again you don’t even know what “equal rights” means and using it wrong.
Another shot in the dark that clearly missed the target, sorry try again.
There was no back tracking on my part by the simple merit I never took that path, it was an assumption on the part of Mayan. Show me where I said women should be forced to serve in the Regiment, you will not be able to do it. What I did put out there is ask why is it that it is expected for a man to serve for his country (remember once again, there are more then one way for men to serve their country).
Reread what it is that I DID type & not what you think I typed, take time to comprehend & THEN maybe you’ll understand. NOWHERE did I say “force women to serve in the regiment”, actually I never said force women to do anything, all I did is ask a question…. Now certain people want to run on & on about something that was NEVER said in the first place.
True supporter of B.A.D
If they don’t want to go, DON’T FORCE THEM.
Human RIghts?
Why is that Magistrate Warner could rule on Pte Smith’s case but not on the Marshall case? Maybe I’m slow, but something seems wrong with that picture.
Maybe Magistrate Warner is afraid of the wrath of Larry Marshall Sr.
Yeah You Are Slow. Smith Pleaded Guilty And Marshall Pleaded Not Guilty. Last Time I Checked Reality Not Guilty Was Followed By A Trial. Nothing Wrong With The Picture. I Guess Your Have Realised Finally Who Is Slow.
@ BermyGuy,
Most people knew The Defender/8 votes was slow, years ago. At long last we have an admission from him/her.
Wrong is wrong and while they are waiting for whatever to take place they should’ve been at the regiment learning skills for a lifetime.
What skills? How to kill, how to march, and how to apply camouflage paint? Sign me up!
why don’t they stop worrying about the marshall boys and go worry about the idiots sitting on the streets selling drugs..doesn’t it seem weird how non of the boys on courtstreet selling drugs have done regimental service?.. Go get them!u
They claim they don’t have the manpower to go and get those who never signed up/dodged from day one… yet they have the manpower to go and get those (read Lamont/others who they pick up from work) who, for all intents and purposes, have followed the law and signed up, etc. They pick on those they know are law abiding…and turn a blind eye to those who aren’t. Regiment, get your act together!
Ohhh so we have no problem charging these guys but when it comes to drug dealers and idiots causing trouble to the island the courts want to act like they simple!!!
Seriously leave these guys alone! I do not see why men and boys should be forced to do this! Instead of forcing males who have jobs and pay bills to join the regiment they should make these low life thugs that do absolutely nothing with their life go there! Wasting guys time!
Last year I looked at the list of boys that were being called for the regiment, since majority of the guys were my age I knew who most of them were, and I noticed that absolutely none of the gang members names that I recognized are in the regiment….. Someone please explain to me why that is possible because as you can see I cannot understand.
@ SMH I was told (Regiment Source) that they go to the police and find out who the “gang members’ (alleged “gang members’) are and DON’t add them to the list. I can attest to what you are saying simply because I have two sons that have served (one hated it, the other just accepted it) and in their respective age groups there are at least 20 that have “gang ties’ but not one of them were called to serve….are we to believe that it was just “luck of the draw”…..Hmmmmmmm
avoiding the regiment is simple…just don’t reply to any of their letters…period. Don’t go up there for any reason, don’t call, and most importantly DONT sign anything! Ive been called in the paper several times over the past 7 years and it has worked so far. Regiment is a JOKE