Ministers Visit Ongoing Regiment Recruit Camp
Government Ministers paid a visit to Warwick Camp today [Jan 15] as the island’s newest soldiers settled in to their first full day of training.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport & Regulatory Affairs, Walter Roban and Minister of National Security Wayne Caines toured Warwick Camp and dropped in on recruits coming to grips with military life and equipment.
Minister Roban told senior soldiers: “I’m happy to be here and I’m impressed with the quality of work the Regiment does.” He added that the RBR had “quite a task” with the end of conscription and the creation of an all-volunteer service.
Minister of National Security Wayne Caines, a former RBR officer, meets up with Sergeant Major Luis Pereira, who, as a Corporal, was his section instructor in Recruit Camp in the 1990s.
The Deputy Premier said: “With the quality of people here, we’re confident they are up to the task and we will support their work.” He added that at least two members of the Cabinet were former soldiers, including Minister Caines, a former Captain.
He said: “That’s where the work they do here can take them – it helped build respect for themselves.
“The Regiment is part of the solution. There are many solutions we have to find, but the Regiment is part of the solutions we’re looking for.”
Minister Roban and Minister Caines visited trainee soldiers learning to take apart and rebuild the RBR’s SA-80 rifles before their first time on the shooting range, the armoury, the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess and the Officers’ Mess.
RBR Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel David Curley, Captain Gordon Emmerson, Deputy Premier Walter Roban, Captain Kenji Bean and Minister of National Security Wayne Caines watch trainee soldiers get used to the SA-80 rifle.
Minister Caines said that his Regiment service had taught him humility and the value of service to the country – and that many men and women now at the top of their professions had learned a lot about leadership skills in their time at Warwick Camp.
He added: “I believe part of my personal journey started at the Bermuda Regiment.
“It’s about esprit de corps, the opportunity to develop personal skills, leadership and the opportunity to develop yourself personally and professionally.”
Minister Caines said the Regiment also highlighted the importance of strong male role models and family for young men. He said: “If we look at it from the gang perspective, if you break it down, having a military you have comrades-in-arms, you have fellow soldiers and a core curriculum.”
Captain Gordon Emmerson, RBR CO Lieutenant Colonel David Curley, Deputy Premier Walter Roban, Captain Kenji Bean and Minister of National Security Wayne Caines tour Warwick Camp as the latest group of recruits start their training.
Minister Caines added that a move towards more full-time jobs in the RBR would “create legitimate opportunities for our young men.” He added: “As we move towards taking on an inshore maritime role, men and women can see the Regiment as a solid career.”
Minister Caines quoted US psychologist Abraham Maslow, who developed his “hierarchy of needs” in the 1940s, which moved from basics like food, shelter and health to the need for security, self-respect and respect for others as well as a sense of belonging and said a full-time RBR would hit many of these targets.
Minister Caines said: “It will provide an opportunity for young people to make themselves better and the country better through a full-time Regiment.”
