First day of recruit camp

The sky drizzles of rain as it slowly brightens signaling the beginning of another day. Largely overcast, grey clouds cover the sky as anxious and nervous new recruits of the Bermuda Regiment huddle outside the front gates of Warwick camp. Inside, regiment personel are positioned and ready to receive the new recruits as a handful of press cameras line the entry roadway to document the recruits as they arrive.

Huddled outside the front gate the new recruits anxiously and nervously await the entry into their new home of the next two weeks and the beginning of their minimum 3 year, 2 month and 2 week term in part time service in Bermuda's army. Some have a faint idea of what to expect, having talked to friends and family who have served in the past, others have imagined and some enter with no expectations.

As the clock ticks within minutes of 8am, a squad of troops are marched around in preparation. The rain turns from drizzle to steadly sleet as the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) yells out the command "Guards! Open the Gate!" causing a torrent of troops to pour through the gates and scurry into camp.

Standing cold and in the rain, some have thought ahead to wear their issued rainsuits, others not. The recruits line up and listen to instructions from the CSM. Calls and shouting emerge from outside the front gate as people have gathered to watch the new recruits begin their new camp, with some there for encouragement while others there for entertainment.

As the recruits stand there, the CSM goes down the list sounding out names as each recruit is instructed to go and join their new corporal, section and platoon; their regimental brothers for the next two weeks as well as the rest of the year.

In a change from last years camp, the late stragglers coming in through the gates are no longer being gripped and led along by the guards to hurry them into camp, perhaps an aspect of changes within first day procedures or a result of the extra media coverage. Those arriving late are encouraged to run by the Regimental Police guards as well as the jeering crowd outside. Appearently even rain won't keep away those who enjoy the spectacle.

This years new recruits have two weeks of 18 hour days of initial training in basic army skills and tactics to look forward to. This along with marching, kit and equipment maintenance and basic life skills. Today's schedule, being no exception, begins with a morning of brief orientation and a firepower demonstration of the regiment's assortment of weaponry. Following lunch, recruits will be introduced to the weapons assigned to them for their entire stint in regiment and will be instructed on the basics of marching. The day concluding with an evening introduction to the basics of kit maintenance including boot polishing, ironing and the functioning of their regimental equipment.

So begins recruit camp 2008.

Perks of the Regiment

Those who hold the belief that the regiment is all bad would be mistaken.  While it does have it's quirks, it also has it's perks, namely providing much needed opportunities for worldly travel to young Bermudians who might otherwise never have the opportunity.

During last night's drill night, it was announced that there is the opportunity for Regimental soldiers to sign up for extra training.  While typically any sort of opportunities for 'extra duties' would sent conscripts running for the hills, this opportunity happens to include the ability to spend 6 weeks in Morocco with 4 weeks of training and 2 weeks of free time with pay at a rate of $1000 a week. 

These are exactly the kinds of opportunities that are things you could look forward to as a member of the regiment and might just be enough to encourage you to show up prepared when you're supposed to and not be too much trouble.  While personally I am not in the position to take leave from my job for such an extended period, if I were, it'd definately be a trip I'd be keen on even despite the 4 weeks of training.  Africa is an incredible, eye-opening place to see that many young Bermudians should have the opportunity to be exposed to and I encourage those in the position to go to give it much consideration.  I highly doubt you'd regret it.

In the army now

Sometimes people ask me what it is like to be in Regiment.  Last thursday's return from summer break serves as a perfect example.  We're required to turn up, marched around and inspected as per usual.  Then we're instructed to go to assigned barracks to sit on the floor and examine two sheets of paper. 

One of the sheets is a printout of our details that we are to confirm if correct and if not, make the necessary corrections.  The other is a list of the different companies or specializations you can choose within your service, of which your choice likely won't matter as Regiment will place you where they see fit anyway.  You pass on the second sheet to the next person as there isn't the budget to photocopy the sheet and we won't be making the actual decision for 2 months anyway.

This of course is followed up by about an hour and a half of sitting on the floor, which we've adequately deemed 'wait training', the most frequent Regimental training exercise.  Then we're hearded out to stand on 'the square' for a while and do some more waiting before being marched around, barked at because not everybody turned up which is somehow half our fault and then dismissed to go home.

Ah the regiment.  Can you see why people are so fond of it?   One can only wonder what tonight's experience shall entail.

Direct Deposit?

Tonights camp was an odd one.  Rather then our regularly scheduled drill night we discovered that we were to be paid to clear up our accounts before being switched over to the pay increase.

One thought that came to mind is why we bother to take up so much time paying out in cheque form when we could get paid via direct deposit.  While I can understand that some would be difficult to gain such details from, it would be nice to be able to provide my banking details to the Regiment so that time could be saved for all involved.

Regimental Incentives

Before I forget about it, I wanted to throw up an idea about an incentive that Regiment could offer to Recruits that routinely meet expectations in terms of attendance and kit preparedness.

Today's incentive stems from the pain of having to carry work+regiment gear in on a bike if you live too far away from warwick to be able to go home between work and the evening session. While many are quick to suggest that putting up with annoyances is a part of life, I do believe the Regiment could do more to make life for Recruits just a little bit easier and potentially start encouraging more to volunteer rather then require conscription.

The incentive? Offer personal storage lockers to soldiers in good standing so that we may be able to leave our kit at Warwick camp rather then having to drag it to and fro along with find somewhere to put it.

A lack of realism hurts the ultimate goal

It's pouring rain.  You're soaking wet, huddled under some trees with fellow recruits as you stand watch at a makeshift roadblock.  You hear a vehicle approaching.  Just then a small white cube van rounds the bend and makes its way up the hill towards you.  At it nears the gate you motion with your hands for the vehicle to stop.  Just as the van stops, the doors swing open and three men huddled inside suddenly heave an improvised explosive device out the door as they slam in reverse and try to get away.  You're heart races, as you've got mere seconds to decide.  What do you do? 

It's a decent scenario, but it's hard to play the part when the makeshift explosive device consists of a cardboard box with wires taped to a large rock and an empty tissue box inside and the "terrorists" appear more interested in staying dry then accomplishing their objective.  You're running on little sleep and you've been standing in the rain for a while now.  You're holding rifles that are older then most of the recruits and somewhat tattered clothing with raingear that is rare to keep you dry.  It's rather hard to get into the theme of things when you can get better realism out of a video game based simulation.

If I could offer any suggestions to the guys who teach next year's recruits, could it be that you make it a bit more realistic?  Throw together a digital display, some logic gates, a timer, some wires and attach them to set off a false grenade so you can give the guys something to get a bit excited about.  Such a scenario would work great if you told us we'd recieved a bomb threat and we'd had a limited timeframe to track it down and cordon it off, potentially recieving an award (late night pizza?) for being the team to finish it in the shortest amount of time.

Sort your life out

All too often we're told "sort your lives out"; for it's a favorite saying at regiment.  What is amazing is that while we are expected to be on time and prepared, very rarely does the regiment do us the same courtesy.  All too often the stigma of "hurry up and wait" comes into play as we are hurried from one place to the next only to spend most of our time standing around.  The nickname the guys and I have come up with for this is "Wait Training", as that seems to be the most frequent regiment exercise - patience - all 3 years, 2 months and 2 weeks of it.

I'm sorry to those 75% of Bermudians who think conscription is a good idea for frankly I think it's a waste of time for the majority of youth who are forced to be there.  The benefits for us lowly privates just aren’t there.  The only benefits are in favor of the country should it need to be entertained from a circus of trained animals and put on a show or act like slaves exploited to provide a cheap labor force for times of emergency.  It is unjust and frankly quite ridiculous and I don't see how many in the community don't see that, but ultimately there is nothing that my fellow conscripts or I can do about it, we're stuck.  This is what the greater majority believes we should be doing and as a minority there simply isn't much that we can do aside from wait it out or get unruly and riot.

Despite the belief that many youth fail to give back to the community, I'm desperately trying to figure out how to make a difference for the island to ensure there is a future for young Bermudians.  Regiment simply isn't it, it isn't going to provide affordable housing, it isn't going to provide the education my generation has been robbed of and it isn't going to help most of those soliders who don't have jobs get jobs.  Are we nothing but clowns out to put on a show for the rest of the community?  Out to be laughed at as we're prodded to do tricks like spin on command and walk in unison at the threat of imprisonment and extra years of conscription if we do not perform?  Our commanders might as well wield branding irons as you will be branded with a criminal record if you step too far out of line.

I've joined and contribute to so many organizations I can barely keep my head afloat.  Bermudians For Referendum, Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce and Youth on the Move are just examples, let alone trying to keep a regular commentary about how to improve Bermuda in blog form, work a full time job, somehow manage to find a reasonable place to live (which if you know of anything - I'm still looking), assist government, the UBP, ABC and whatever other organization I can convince to take on and embrace modern technology to encourage better communication going amongst Bermudians and somehow, on top of all this I have fantasies of trying to run for Parliament to make a difference.  I must be wasting my time as clearly Regiment does more then all of these things.

Those in Regiment may well be right; I do need to sort my life out.  I simply care too much about trying to make a difference and it is growing ever clearer that caring about Bermuda's future is a pointless escapade that will only do me more harm then good.  Why can I not accept that 75% of Bermudians believe that my time is best spent simply doing regiment?  That is my forced commitment to the country and I should simply leave it at that.

Service at your discretion

This past Thursday we found out what the pay increase is to be. We had been told previously that the pay would match that which a police officer of the same level is paid. The actual increase? Well it's almost double to $30.23 a drill. So quite a large increase by percentage, but what exactly is a drill? Well tonights session is one example of what is counted as a drill.  Typically sessions that last as short as 2 and as long as 4 hours in which we do various exercises.

We were to complete CPFA's, which may stand for combat personal fitness assessment though I'm not certain. That meant we had to do pushups, situps and a 1.5 mile run. The problem is, we have absolutely no clue why we're doing this. All we're told is that we're to do CPFA's, little more.   How are these CPFA's going to help us in an emergency scenario? It isn't like we're doing constant training, rather just 3 different styles of tests, a pack run, range shooting and tonights debacle.  We don't have a clear understanding of why all this is actually useful.  By present law, we won't ever be required to go overseas to war, so why are we doing the training for it?  It more so seems like we're just doing it because thats what militaries do, only without the actual training, just tests.

Why were doing what we're doing is a question that comes up often among conscripts see little value in what we're being asked to do.  You can discount those who volunteered for it because this is something that they wanted to do, but even when talking to some of those who joined the cadre, ultimately the only value I'm hearing the ones I talk to describe is being able to boss people around if they get rank.

Without knowing what the point is, it's hard to accept why we're suppose to be thrilled that we're ultimately going to be paid between $10 and $15 an hour for what for many seems pointless. Certainly any money is appreciated considering we're forced against our will, but the key sentiment that echoes among many recruits is that we're not respected nor are we appreciated. We're not respected among the community as sometimes people laugh at us. We're not respected by the community or government because rather then paying a wage comparible to any basic job, we're conscripted into when, as a victim of it, feels like slave labour.

What is the true point of the regiment? I've heard the speel that regiment's primary goal is to support the police in times of need, but really, that argument is losing weight as time passes. So far we've learned how to create vehicle checkpoints which best forseeable purpose likely falls within the regiment policing itself rather then assisting the police. We've guarded a literal fortress with security so good the only flaw was that common members of the regiment learning the gate code and having unrestricted access to the computers inside. The two most critical flaws in the "key points" security were that the regiment was trying to guard it in the first place.  What is the point?

I've heard the arguement of regiment serving as an entity for hurricane support which is fair and reasonable for we certainly do need support in times when our country needs it most. It has been suggested that following fabian, the regiment worked so fast to restore things that Works and Engineering staffed complained about regiment stealing their overtime pay. This suggests one of two things to me, either Works and Engineering staff don't work efficiently or it's easier to get work done when you can have a load more workers you conscript and pay slave wages.

Of course you may heavily disagree, but isn't it easy to turn a blind eye when the discrimination isn't happening to you?  As Martin Niemöller once said of the Nazi's

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Regiment is appearing more and more like a really expensive insurance plan for a disaster that because the actual work comes cheap, seems like a good investment.  Despite what you believe, The Regiment isn't doing much to provide adjustment to Bermuda's youth.  Instead it's introducing even more contempt for authority as for everyone but the conscripts the law doesn't apply if you're the ranking individual.  How can one respect the rules of an organization if the leadership opts to not follow it's own rules?

I'm having a harder and harder time justifying the need for an army as opposed to a mostly full-time/part time volunteer disaster response force.  If the bulk of what is necessary is extra hands in the event of a disaster, then take the necessary steps to make it a reality without conscription.  Right now we're budgeted to spend $9 million on the regiment, how well is that money being spent?  How much would an insurance plan offered by our local reinsurance companies cover us?  How many million would they pay out in a disaster scenario if we were to take a few of those millions and put them towards insurance coverage that would cover the costs of paying the overtime of Works and Engineering staff?  What if the other few million left over were to go towards a smaller full-time contingent of soldiers, or better, coast guard style staff?   Ones fully trained in various skills that are critical in times of crisis as opposed to a contingent of poorly trained 'soldiers' which is as much a product of our lack of proper resources, limited ethusiasm due to lack of purpose and respect and limited training due to our part time nature.

That'd at least be a fair compromise that would eliminate the need for conscription and give regiment or whatever other entity that is to help us in times of emergency the respect it deserves and even further, the capacity to truly serve our community in times of need.

Regiment: Combat Fitness Tests

Thursday of last week marked the beginning of a series of exercises to test our combat fitness referred to as Combat Fitness Tests or CFTs.  These tests consist of; an 8 mile run with 35 pounds in your rucksack in 1 hour and 50 minutes, range shooting to a desired accuracy and timed situps/pushups and are conducted at minimum once a year if you meet expectations.

We've heard that in previous years, if you didn't complete these CFTs you wouldn't get paid for the year, however this has changed for at least this year's group.  This year we will get paid regardless of how well we perform and those who achieve the desired results on their first try will earn an extra $200 bonus for each exercise.

My platoon was first to be tasked with the 8 mile run.  The 8 mile run is one of those instances where I wonder what the value is in the grand scheme of things.  While it is certainly reasonable for soldiers in a combat situation to be expected to be able to run for 8 miles with a fully packed rucksack, Regiment soldiers are not legally obligated to ever serve in a war scenario as the Regiments primary objective is to support the local police.  Individuals would only enter a war scenario off island if they were to volunteer for it.

My own experience with the 8 mile run was a grueling one.  If you'd ask those who know me from camp, most would agree that while I may not have the most positive things to say of what we're asked to do, when it comes to actually doing what we're asked, I usually give it all I can.  The 8 mile run was no exception and I took it as a personal challenge like any other.  Overall, I was pleased with my results, I set a comfortable pace and ended up finishing 3rd or 4th overall in my platoon at a time of 1 hour and 40 min.  However, the most grueling part of the run didn't come during, it came after due to my flat feet.

Waking the day following the 8 mile run I quickly realized that it was painful to move.  Even just climbing out of bed was a struggle as I grasped the vision of what daily life would be like as an old man with dihabilitating arthritis.  Many of my fellow recruits had talked of taking the day off, though I have always been too stubborn to use up my sick days when I really may need them later so I made a decision I'd later regret and figured I could push through it.

Making it through the day was a struggle and gave a clear glimpse of a future I likely shall face again as I get older.  Hobbling at the pace of an old man with bad arthritis, I avoided every stair possible and took a pace of less then half a foot per step.  Sitting down was difficult given my knee pain and helped me gain an honest appreciation for what it is like to be handicapped with the realization that most bathrooms are ill-equipped for such individuals. 

Guilt was a feeling that ran through my mind as I worked at a very slow pace throughout the day.  It didn't seem right that I should be allowing regiment to affect my ability to get my job done, though I had little to no choice in the matter.  The day ticked by more quickly as I loaded up on excedrin and avoided movement any more then absolutely necessary.  The bulk of my weekend was spent laying on my couch as I was unwilling to overexert myself and quite disappointed that I was unable to take advantage of the windy weekend to pursue my passion for kiteboarding.

The 8 mile run is one circumstance where I really do wish to ask the question of why are we doing this?  What is the goal and purpose of having regiment soldiers run for 8 miles with 35 pounds on our backs if we're never going to find ourselves in a combat situation?  Of course I can understand and respect that such tasks are typical with armies around the world who face combat situations, however, by mandate the Bermuda Regiment won't ever be asked to face a combat situation external to Bermuda and where when we ever need to run 8 miles in Bermuda? 

For that matter, if the Bermuda Regiment truly is trying to emanate a semblance of foreign armies, then why accept people with flat feet when they have been known to have been turned away by the US Army?  That brings me back to my ongoing question of why an army for an island, to which I am still not certain of the answer.  Is there a purpose and goal of having Bermuda Regiment recruits run 8 miles with 35 pounds on their back each year?  If so, what is it?  If our primary role is to support the police, do they also perform such tasks each year?  If not, why are we doing it?  What is it's purpose?

Thankfully my 8 mile run is finished as I met the desired mark for this year.  I don't envy those who have had to complete the run prior to this weekend's camp nor those who didn't meet the mark and have to try again later on in the year.  For the time being, I'm not going to think about when I have to do it again next year and plan to make a trip to visit my ortheopedic practitioner to get his advice on what I can do to get around my own difficulties in preparation for next time.

Interview: Life in The Bermuda Regiment

The following was published in the Mid Ocean News this past friday

THE Bermuda Regiment has come under fire in recent weeks, with broadsides being launched from both the home front and overseas. A group of rebel recruits are currently fighting the call to arms after forming Bermudians Against the Draft. The pressure group claims that compulsory enlistment
contravenes their human rights and is essentially a form of 21st century slavery. And earlier this month British Parliamentarian Andrew MacKinlay told the House of Commons that the military unit was "in a parlous state".

The Labour Party MP said the force's equipment was obsolete and its officers lacked basic leadership skills. Has the Regiment become nothing more than an irrelevant relic of the last century, or does it still have a role to play in modern Bermuda? Are recruits poorly treated or simply guided with a firm
hand? And is the Regiment the character-building exercise that advocates claim, or does it simply bully inexperienced young men into bowing to authority? Fresh recruit Denis Pitcher, 25, a computer software writer who spent two weeks at Boot Camp at the start of the year, has always been
willing to serve his country, although he does question the fairness of the conscription 'lottery' and sees no need for Bermuda to have an army. He spoke to Mid-Ocean News reporter GARETH FINIGHAN about his experiences in the front line.

Q: How did you feel when you found out you had been conscripted? Do you think you were given enough time to prepare?
A: I was disappointed and annoyed, although not surprised. A few years back my brother's name appeared in the paper. He was off island at the time and so I appeared before the Defense Department on his behalf. What I didn't realize was that the newspaper listing was a call to register, not the draft itself. When I appeared before the Defense Department to answer on my brother's behalf, they realized that I was not on their records and subsequently I was required to register along with him. It wasn't much of a surprise when both of our names appeared in the list of those drafted.  I hadn't understood the distinction between being called to register and being drafted. I was not even aware that I was required to register.

Since they did not have my name on file, if I had never turned up to sign that registry paper would they ever have known? It annoys me to consider that the system might be flawed and that this may happen often. It also bothers me to hear claims of people who never turned up to sign that piece of paper and never got called or pursued. Some have even suggested  that the 'lottery' may not really exist and that only those who show up to register are ever pursued. It may be that those who do the right thing are punished while those who do not are rewarded.

Q: How did you find Boot Camp? Was it physically difficult, boring, exciting, or a mix?
A: I had an idea of what I could expect because at university, I had joined the varsity American football team which exposed me to a similar Boot Camp where we were pushed you to your physical and mental limits. I didn't expect the Regiment to be as grueling.

The Regiment allows you to push yourself if you're up to the challenge, but football camp was a lot tougher. There truly were times when I hated being part of the American football team because it was very tough to make it through the two-week camp. I could make similar claims of the Regiment but the difference is that I'd go back and do football again. I chose to be there and made the commitment. With the Regiment, attendance was not optional.

A saying of a fellow recruit is a good description of the camp mentality. 'Don't be talking when you should be eating. You can make friends while polishing your boots.' It is surprising how true this comment was for we were to shovel down our food as fast as possible and had little free time
during the 18-hour-plus days.

Q: Explain a typical day. Was there such a thing as a typical day?
A: Camp broke into a predictable routine quite quickly. We'd be woken just before 5.30 a.m. with barely enough time to run to the bathroom prior to starting our morning physical training, which would last about 30 minutes.

Following PT we would have a limited window of time to shower - usually cold - before rushing to eat, which was also one of those occasions where, if you didn't fight to be first, it was likely you wouldn't have enough time to eat everything.

Our corporal wouldn't hear of us skipping meals but it didn't stop some from sneaking off to skip breakfast in order to feel at least somewhat clean. Having only two sets of clothes, we were often wearing the same ones for days on end which didn't help. It was suggested that there was only one
washing machine at camp, so few if any bothered to make use of it.

After breakfast would come what many saw as the most grueling part of the day - morning muster. We would be marched onto the square and required to stand "at attention" for an indeterminate length of time while being subjected to kit inspection. We would be examined on how well we'd ironed our clothes, polished our shoes and our cap badges. Almost every day we were chastised at length about the poor state of our kit, and if you didn't remain perfectly still during this time or your kit wasn't up to scratch, you were sometimes required to perform extra duties which made it harder to be prepared the next day.

Following muster was a lesson - field or rifle knowledge - and drills, which focused on marching. We would then have a short time for lunch, a brief muster and an afternoon of more lessons and another drill.

The evenings would start with dinner, typically followed up by a short break and then a lesson in the mess hall. We were required to sit cross legged on the floor which was reminiscent of being a pre-schooler and a bit degrading.

We were considered mature enough to handle a rifle but not mature enough to have a chair. I don't know if this was an intentional part of the 'tearing you down' mentality of Regiment or a by-product of the small mess hall and limited chairs.

The evening ended with us being released to our barracks where we were expected to spend the remaining hours of the night working on improving our kit. Often the hours before lights out at 11 p.m. weren't enough to reach the expected standard and some opted to continue working in what dim light was available. After just a few hours of sleep, we would begin the routine again the next day.

Q: Do you think you learnt anything practical during your training? Can you detail any tasks that seemed either pointless or beneficial?

A: There were lessons to be learned in a lot of what we did. As for how useful each of those lessons will be in the course of a lifetime is questionable. One of the things I enjoyed most was learning about methods of camouflage and concealment.  However, considering our rapidly diminishing green space on the island and the incredibly small likelihood that we'll ever make use of those skills it did feel pointless at times.

Learning army tactics when you live on a tiny remote island when we'll likely never face a foreign assault from an opposing army, let alone any military force simply didn't make a lot of sense.  On one occasion a fellow recruit said it felt like we were 'playing soldier'. Although the comment was quickly condemned by our superiors, it was a good description of what we were doing.

Marching around the square in unison may seem pointless, but there were some valuable lessons to learn from the experience. It requires patience, teamwork and concentration. In order to be successful you had to be willing to put your own pains aside to work alongside the team. Marching also taught a somewhat hidden lesson of confident body language, showcasing how you should walk tall, holding your head up high and swinging your arms with confidence.

Endlessly polishing our boots was another exercise potentially deemed pointless for some though may hold some merit. One evening one of the Sergeant Majors stopped by our barracks and we asked if he would give us a lesson on how to shine our boots. While he was demonstrating his method he explained the merits of shiny shoes by likening them to his generation's form of bling. His generation didn't know as much about fancy cars, clothes and gold chains and instead grew up in an age where one showcased success through pure hard work. He said walking into a room with shoes that bling shows more about a person then a gold chain. Isn't it said that the first thing a woman notices of a man is his shoes?

The lessons learned of ironing our clothes and polishing our boots can go a long way in helping make solid first impressions for a well maintained appearance says a lot about an individual. The difference between a well maintained appearance can be the make or break aspect of landing a job or making a sale, however I have been left wondering if in my own case whether my employer would rather I dedicate my evenings to my appearance or instead studying to improve my trade skills.  By some regards, my generation is already a bit too focused on appearances and not focused enough on skills.

Q: Were you subject to, or did you witness, any bad treatment amongst the recruits?

A: I had heard a great many horror stories from people I knew who had been through Boot Camp. In my own experience nothing we were subjected to resembled the worst of those stories, although the language and profanity witnessed at was quite often far beyond what was necessary.

The Regiment was very good about ensuring that no physical abuse occurred and that the genuinely injured were cared for. There were times when injured individuals could have received better treatment, although considering the huge number of people faking illness, it was not a surprise that the medics were sometimes overwhelmed.

I do still question the merit of such limited hours of sleep and the necessity of making the bathroom inaccessible after lights out. The Regiment's official position of requiring a Corporal to escort recruits to the bathroom during those hours is ill-conceived. It is also unreasonable to expect the Corporals to get no sleep because they're taking recruits to the bathroom every hour. I disagree with the policy of limiting access to the bathrooms after lights out. If it is not possible to have facilities installed within the barracks then they should be freely accessible at all hours. The alternatives were certainly less then desirable.

Q: It's said that the Regiment is a great leveler - an ideal opportunity for young men from different social circles and neighborhoods to get together, interact, and, if nothing else, become good friends. Did you find that to be the case?

A: It certainly brings young men from different social circles together and was certainly a great leveler. It brought me closer to individuals I likely never would have met and no doubt will become good friends with as our time goes on. One thing that did serve as an eye opener during this experience is that I got a much closer look at the level my generation is at.  I would have thought and hoped that many are taking advantage of the wealth of opportunity at their fingertips, however this wasn't readily apparent.

It was very concerning for me to witness individuals who showed signs of a poor education, the direct result of our floundering education system. My generation has very unfortunately been given the short end of the stick. While we've been exposed to more opportunity then our parents could ever have dreamed of, it has come at the price of losing our sense of community and pride in achieving things together. Much of the mentality I witnessed was focused more on the self then the whole, which is
truly unfortunate.

Q: To what extent did you find the Regiment was a "character-building" exercise?

The community belief held by many that Regiment will straighten out the bad apples in our society is a misguided one. Our society needs to decide what it wants. The Regiment is tasked as being the national defense force for a variety of scenarios and an organization to be relied on in times of need. To try to merge this goal with the objective of straightening out our youth on a limited budget of both time and money is ill-conceived and does damage to both causes.

If our youth are in need of such 'character-building' it should be done properly through a combination of discipline, education, skills and opportunity which should lie separate from the objective of national support. 

As was stated by numerous officers, you'll get out of Regiment what you put into it. It can be an incredibly wholesome, character building exercise if you realize that you can push yourself further then you ever thought possible and reach for greater achievement. However, if you truly resent being forced against your will to be there for no other reason then being unluckily chosen, then it's unlikely you'll gain much if anything from the experience.

Q: How inconvenient was it having to take two weeks off work, and how inconvenient is it likely to be in the future?

A: In the grand scheme of things, losing two weeks won't have long term impact on my career. However, for those who are not in my position and are struggling to find jobs or work hourly, the wage is mediocre and measure up to less then the minimum of developed nations. While any pay is
appreciated, it should come as no surprise that few if any volunteer to put in 18+ hour days at the equivalent of less then $4 an hour.

One of the largest concerns I have about the requirement is that it adds one more tick on the list of differences between hiring a Bermudian and an expatriate worker. Thanks to certain government policies, there is less and less incentive for employers to bother trying to fill entry-level jobs with
Bermudians in the face of the investment required to do so. Adding negatives such as Regiment and requiring those employers to foot the bill will not bode well in opening up future opportunities.

Q: Have your views on the Regiment changed since you joined up?

A: Before attending camp, I had little understanding of the point of it. Having an army mandated to national defense on an island is counter intuitive. I could not and still cannot conceive of any scenario where a foreign army would invade. Years ago the Regiment may have had a very solid purpose but that appears to be fading.  Both the US and Canada no longer have bases here simply because it is no longer necessary. There is little to no strategic value left in Bermuda's location for military purposes like there once was in our history. Today's technology has allowed the range of missiles, planes, ships and submarines to far surpass any but the most minimal need to stop here.

I think our community would be better served if we were to evolve the army into a form of National or Coast Guard-style organization where we could try and form training partnerships with the US and Canada to cross-utilize some of our resources in exchange for access to theirs. There are many youth who haven't been fortunate enough to have a boat of their own who would jump at the chance to cruise around in a semi-modern cutter visiting foreign ports along with assisting our island in defending and patrolling our waters.

Support in the events of civil disturbance and emergencies could certainly still fall under this style of organization. Regarding conscription, my views have not changed - it's unjust and unnecessary and should not exist at all.  Despite my bitter reluctance to participate in the Regiment, I entered camp with a positive attitude. Very quickly, other recruits noted my constructive attitude and condemned me as a must be volunteer. It caused a gap between myself and other recruits along with a sense of resentment towards me. I ended up changing my attitude in order to fit in as to do otherwise would have made camp even more unbearable.  The worst part of camp was that there are people who truly do not want to be there and only bring the down moral of everyone else. Because there's only a minority of people who wanted to be there in the first place, you're better off having a bad attitude then a constructive one because you'll be better accepted this way. How can this be a positive scenario for
assisting our country in times of need?

Conscription is inherently flawed as is discriminates and is 'random'. How can it be justified that women are perfectly fit and capable enough to volunteer but are incapable of being conscripted?  Men are held to a different standard. I mean no offense intended to the women who volunteer, but if conscription is to continue, either women should be deemed fit to be conscripted or they shouldn't be permitted to volunteer.  If it wasn't right to pick out a certain race to perform compulsory service in the past, why is it okay to pick out a certain gender and age group to perform it today? On top of that, why is it that a 'random' allotment gets chosen and others skate by with no obligation?

Q: What alternatives to the Regiment should be made available, or are you opposed to any form of compulsory service?

A: Alternatives are available, although limited. Prior to fully enlisting you join either the Police Reserves, St. John's Ambulance or the Fire Service in St. David's. Policing your own community has to be a very difficult job given that you are asked to enforce the law on your friends and family who may resent you for it later. St. John's Ambulance, can be unappealing for those who wouldn't want to bear witness to the tragedies and gruesome scenarios, which just leaves the Fire Service, although you have to live in St. David's to be part of that. This would have been my choice, though I was already enlisted before I moved back to St. David's.

Ultimately, you do have alternatives if you haven't already enlisted. I am not so certain of the options once you enlist however. I believe we still need to see more alternatives made available, even if it means we increase the draft. There are a great many organizations that could make good use of the assistance able to be provided by many individuals in our society.

Q; What are your views on the members of Bermudians Against the Draft?

A: I applaud the members of the Bermudians Against the Draft for standing up for what they believe in. You have two choices when it comes to the draft. Either show up for Regiment and accept the legal obligation and three year commitment, or face a criminal record - which could include being placed on the stop list - and imprisonment. I chose the former simply because I could not afford to throw away everything I have worked hard to achieve. Many individuals in the community see the Regiment as fulfilling a tradition that has been in place for generations. Some of these individuals instantly chastise any who complain about the obligation on the argument that they had to do it so why should younger generations not also have to 'suck it up'?

Personally, I'm against the draft but am taking a different approach to combating it. I have agreed to fulfill my legal obligation to serve, despite my opposition to being forced to do it. I believe future generations should not be forced to participate in the draft and as such, I intend to remain a vocal opponent of it throughout my time in the Regiment. My goal is not to stop myself from serving, but to put a stop to the requirement for others who come after me to serve against their will.

Because of my opposition to the draft I have opted not to volunteer to serve extra time and join the  Junior Non-Commissioned Officer's Cadre. Despite the fact that I may gain from the experience and that the Regiment needs 'good soldiers', I have no intention of serving in any capacity further then what I am forced to do. I admit it's unfortunate that I have chosen to take this approach, however it is against my principles to support an organization that supports the draft.

Until I have the choice to serve or not serve, I shall serve in the lowest capacity possible and I invite future recruits who don't have the ability to follow in the footsteps of BAD to take a similar work-to-rule approach.

Q: Do you think having a positive attitude makes Regiment life easier?

A: The best way to make camp life easier is to do what you're asked to do. Talking back or refusing definitely will make it harder and you'll only single yourself out. The reality is you can't win against the system, it is designed that way with legal support from our Government. The only thing you can do is try to bend the rules as much as you can get away with to make things easier. If you try to break or live outside them, you'll only make things a great deal worse.

Q: What would your advice be to recruits facing the draft next year? 

A: Try not to dread the experience.  I'm not saying you won't hate camp while you're there, but for the most part it is only two weeks and camp does end eventually even though it feels like it may last for an eternity.

If you're lucky enough to have the prospect of living off island, I would encourage you to consider it unless you have your heart set on remaining in Bermuda.  Prior to attending camp, if I didn't have a great career and didn't want to be in Bermuda, the Regiment would have been a major factor in encouraging me to stay off island.  Given what I now know having gone through camp, my view hasn't changed and while some people may dislike my opinion, my recommendation to my brother who faces camp next year shall be that if the opportunities offered abroad are even remotely close to what he could attain on island, he is better off staying away to avoid it.

It is an unfortunate position to hold, however I simply don't yet feel that I or the country have gained much from my conscripted requirement to serve in the Regiment.  Perhaps this attitude will change as my training progresses and I serve out the length of my conscription.

Regiment feature tomorrow

For those of you wondering what ever happened to my talk of writing about my regiment experience and how I've posted very little, well you'll find out why I've been relatively quiet with tomorrow's edition of the Mid Ocean News.

Shortly following the conclusion of regiment camp I was asked if I would mind doing an interview about the experience from my own perspective and I happily obliged.  I do still have a great many notes to sift through from camp and lots more to write about, so stay tuned.

As another brief note, my internet access over the weekend is going to be limited so I've turned on the comment approval requirement until I'm back in the fray of things.

Rewards and The Regiment

The evening sessions have worked out to be a fair bit more relaxed then camp itself was with evenings not going nearly as late as I had feared prior to starting camp.  The first few have been kind of boring though tonight's did involve a few jokes cracked which lightened things up and helped it move a bit quicker. 

Tonight's lesson was on vehicle check points which are essentially little more then guarded road blocks for controlling and inspecting traffic.  As we get further into the evening sessions and away from camp we are learning more about our civil duties with the purpose being that the regiment's primary purpose is to assist the police in times of emergency.  

There is some point to what we're learning in terms of the evenings, as past evenings have taught us basic lessons such as the recognizing, characterizing and describing of people based upon the A to H means, being.

• Age, with an estimate bracket of 5 years
• Build in terms of the person's body type and characteristics
• Complexion and Clothing in terms of recognizing what they were wearing and their appearance
• Distinguishing marks
• Elevation or the height of the person in a bracket of 2 inches
• Facial characteristics
• Gait or how they carry themselves
• Hair

Though boring at the speed at which the material is taught, being able to describe people relatively accurately is an interesting lesson to learn overall.  It has it's applications for the work of checkpoints and guard duty and may also be a good trick to improving memory.  For anyone who has trouble remembering names and describing people, these lessons may help one notice more and possibly remember and be able to describe them better as a result, in both the short term and the long.

Other lessons have included scenarios of how to cordon off an area for a variety of scenarios such as guarding an area, the purposes of the regiment, and vehicle recognition.

One thing that I've been wondering is whether the Regiment is intentionally not supposed to be fun.  This is a question that comes up relatively often just because there are few incentives to want to make the most out of your time there.  There arn't any reasons for doing what your told and having your kit all straight aside from the negative reinforcement of extras or time in the guard room.  There really doesn't seem to be any positive reinforcement or rewards for not only doing what you're supposed to but striving for the higher level the commanding officers are always looking for.  You could join the cadre, which meant more time and an unknown schedule, for at the time of joining the cadre you really knew little of what you were getting yourself into.  The arguement in support for some who joined was to get away from the people who don't want to be there, though it was amusing to watch some of the biggest trouble makers join the cadre because you could tell they got a rise out of cracking jokes and making others get in trouble for them.

True rewards, enough to not only make the average conscript enjoy it enough to want to be there but also enough to encourage people to want to sign up, don't seem to be there, aside from the reward you get if you challenge yourself.  I've heard that years ago they used to sponsor a sport referred to as paintball, where you have special guns that shoot water based paint pellets which can be used to simulate battle conditions.  I havn't heard anything of it and thus far am wondering and doubting that you get the chance to do it.  It would be a great thing to have on the island as I had the opportunity to play it a couple times while I was abroad at school.  I'm disappointed that it seems to no longer happen.

It makes me wonder of the scenario of a field trip for a bunch of graduating high schoolers.  One put on by the regiment where you would get to go out to the old Annex and spend a day learning a bit about what the regiment does and get to play a few rounds of paintball with the explanation that you have to be or have been a member of the regiment to be able to play it.  Bermuda isn't always the most exciting place to be so offering the ability to do something different could work to the Regiment's benefit.  It would be one positive thing to offer to those who are turn up when they're supposed to and could serve as a positive enticement to get more youth encouraged and interested in the regiment rather then simply dreading it and ultimately it doesn't have to be just one positive thing. 

Could the regiment be expanded to include more positive incentives to encourage youth to want to be there?  Certainly.  We were told of an initative by a few guys last year to raise money for a gym that could be used for regiment members to work out because gyms can be so expensive here.  There could be others that offered positive incentives to want to participate in the regiment.  If our people are so supportive of the regiment and it's usefulness, is there a reason why we aren't doing more to provide proper incentives for our youth to want to be there rather then forcing us to be there?

Only 157 weeks of conscription to go

Today marks week 7 of my time in the regiment and this weekend shall be our first weekend camp.  Thus far I can't say that I'm enjoying the experience nor looking forward to either tonights session or this weekend's. 

I have had full intentions of writing more about the experience however was asked by the mid ocean news to do an interview on it which took up a great deal of the time I'd hoped to dedicate.   Subsequently, the feature has been postponed a number of times and in typical fashion of when I've dealt with the Royal Gazette feedback is limited and I really have no idea whats going on.  Worst case I'll just start copying my responses here.

I can appreciate the need for the Regiment in some cases though there are still many things about it that I question.  There seems to be alot of reference to it being a resource to guard against terrorist attacks which I find puzzling.  It is hard for me to concieve any scenario where an outside terrorist group would have interest in terrorizing our island.  I figure it is quite a bit more likely that if any terrorism scenario were to occur, it would be under the guise of Bermudians terrorizing Bermudians.  At which point I question the benefit of conscripting unwilling young Bermudians into the Regiment to teach us army warfare tactics and provide us with the knowledge of weapon and explosive caches around the island, some left over from the US bases that were here.  This detail was considerably bothersome to me for I have zero idea why we have kept around explosive caches left from the US base.

Learning camoflauging tactics itself and the fact that we're an army on an island surrounded by hundreds of miles of water in all directions is a bit counter intuitive.  The justification of our camoflauge is that it helps provide a recognizeable uniform and demonstration of organized force in the event of guarding key points around the island and taking on any would be attackers.  This seems odd as given what we're taught our camoflauge uniforms would be most beneficial in giving us the opportunity to take advantage of shrubbery peppered around the island and along roadways as a means to conceal ourselves in the event that we needed to.  At which point I again wonder about whether such uniforms would lend itself more to waging war with our own people then foreign invaders, but I suppose I've got 3 years and 2 months to figure out what the real reasons are for it.

So, 7 weeks are nearly gone and only 157 weeks to go.  It'd definately going to be a long 3 years to get this legally conscripted requirement to serve over with.

Recruit Camp Day #1 - The morning of Sunday, Jan 7th 2007

The following and subsequent series of articles reflect my best attempts at recollection of what the regiment experience was like.  It relies on my memories and the notes I was able to take in the extremely limited amount of free time I had.  These statements are of course of my own opinion and volition.  I share them as a means to provide insight into the experience for future generations who are subjected to similar and they do not in any way reflect the opinions of The Regiment, it's officers or members.

8am, Sunday Jan 7^th, marked the beginning of this years recruit camp with the opening of the front gates of Warwick Camp, the home of the Bermuda Regiment. Of those who had been milling about outside the gates, most were dressed as required in the military camouflage fatigues we had been issued. We stood there relishing in the moment that many had come to dread. The start of camp and our 3 year and 2 month involuntary commitment.

Once inside, we were aligned along the south edge of the camp's central square and stood opposite to ranks of other soldiers who had taken their place prior to our arrival. As we stood in wait, our bags on our shoulders or down at our feet, names were called out as Regimental Officers identified each recruit and matched him with others. Those whose names had been called where then marched off under the custody of those whom we quickly realized would be our immediate superiors for the next 15 days. As we waited, we watched as those recruits unfortunate enough to arrive late were hurried up the right side of the square, prodded to run with all their baggage by soldiers with an RP emblem emblazoned on their shoulders.

Our first order of the day was to become acquainted with our barracks, which would serve as home for the duration of our stay. Walking down rows of bunks where sheets and blankets had been folded and placed at the edge of each bed, we each glanced at the name tags hanging at the front of each bunk. Keeping an eye out for one's own name, we each quickly found our own and noted that we would soon be known only by our last name, rank and serial number, in traditional military fashion.

With little more time to get acquainted with our new abode then to stop and check over the equipment we'd been assigned, we were quickly ushered to the next phase of our first day which involved a very brief tour of camp grounds including explanations of where we could go along with were we could not. Unsurprisingly, those places we could not go vastly outnumbered those that we could as it was explained that we were going to require escorts to go most anywhere. Many of us quickly realized that we would have little freedom of choice on where we could go and when as we remained within the gates of Warwick camp.

The morning continued with a quick jog outside the front gates of camp, down and across south shore road and down a path where we came upon a familiar, yet oddly foreign sight. Laid out in front of us was the familiar scenery of south shore Warwick, overlooking the beaches. What differed from the traditional was that the landscape was checkered with area marking tape, targets akin to what you'd seen on firing ranges in the movies and, off in the distance, an array of cinder block walls, sandbags, plastic barrels and other odd structures. Of particular interest was a table set up only a couple meters in front of us where an assortment of weapons had been laid out on display. Other recruits who had already arrived were busy taking a seat on the grass in a sectioned off area and we were motioned to join them.

The demonstration began as every recruit had found a spot on the ground. We were instructed to take out the earplugs we had been given and place them in our ears, after which the instructor began speaking via loudspeaker. He motioned towards the table as he welcomed us to the pyrotechnics demonstration and explained that, laid out in front of us, was a selection of the weapons currently held by the Regiment. As he went over each item, an assistant held up the example for everyone to see and other demonstrators took over the weapon and gave demonstrations of them being fired on the south shore firing range.

Among the selection there were various types of signal flares, grenades, rifles and guns. We were taken through the selection of firearms beginning with the Ruger Rifle. The Ruger was described to be the primary firearm in use by the Bermuda Regiment and would be the firearm each of us would be assigned during our time in camp. It was suggested that the Ruger had been in use since the early 80s and that this would be the Ruger's last year, as next year would mark the introduction of a new rifle and the retirement of the aging Rugers. The Ruger was shown to still be effective despite it's age as a demonstrator took aim and fired off a few shots at targets in the distance.

Next up was the SLR, described as a past favorite of the British Army followed by the more modern SA80 British Rifle and subsequently, a General Purpose Machine Gun or GPMG. The ever popular Hollywood favorite UZI was demonstrated next along with the Remington shot gun. Each of these shorter range weapons were fired at closer targets, showcasing their ability to inflict considerable damage convincing most that you'd never want to find yourself at the other end of the barrel. A 9mm Baretta and a Smith and Weston Pistol were showcased as part of the Regiment's handgun assortment. Their quick shots fired at various targets showcasing that among other things, riot shields are no match for handguns. Finally, a Federal Riot Gun was demonstrated. The FRG was explained to be the weapon used by the Regiment in riot training and live scenarios. Capable of delivering light 1.5 grain and heavy 25 grain rubber rounds which could, it was described as a last resort method of attaining crowd control is a riot situation.

Following the demonstration of the effectiveness of each of these weapons, some proving their lethality by laying a heavy beating on some of the targets, we were instructed to rise and were led our way back to camp.

Next up? Lunch.

Freedom!

Once again I am back amongst the free, able to do as I please.  My time in recruit camp at the Bermuda Regiment has come to a close and along with it, I have regained a sense of freedom after having lived a relatively restricted in dictated life for the last two weeks.

Over the coming weeks I shall be writing some of my thoughts on what camp was like from the perspective of a recruit, reliving some of the experiences and sharing some of my thoughts on the Bermuda Regiment as a whole.  I have tried to approach the experience with an open mind leaving my predispositions outside the gates prior to entering.  There is little doubt that I will have both positive and negative things to say and hopefully will offer a different perspective for those who will have to live through similar experiences in the future.

While of course some may not like what I have to say, I still do believe in my freedom to say it, for otherwise would indicate that freedom of speech does not exist in our great country.

For now I can be thankful and appreciative to have regained my freedom.  While having lived two weeks being told when to eat, sleep, do and where to do it, regaining the ability to think and choose for oneself is something I have gained a whole level of appreciation for.

Stay tuned for more.

Thoughts after first week in recruit camp

The following was written on January 14th, however was mistakenly not posted at that time, it had been intended to preceed the previous article.

As the public relations officer for the Bermuda Regiment Major Stephen Caton stated on the LimeyinBermuda.com website, "everyone is welcome to their opinion or viewpoint about the Regiment whether they are currently serving or not and the Regiment is not going to stand in their way."

I would like to thank him for this clarification and would like to speak on my own behalf concerning my opinion and experience of what is is like to be conscripted to the Bermuda Regiment and required to serve as a recruit in the 2007 camp as well as the subsequent 3 years and 2 months of national service.

While I do not disagree with the regiment, it's aims and specific goals itself, I do disagree with some of it's approaches, conscription and the means by which the Regiment fills it's ranks.

By serving time in the regiment, I am forced to give up 2 weeks of a well paying job that I have worked hard to achieve in exchange for 18+ hour days at a wage lower then the minimum wage of most, if not all, developed countries at a time when Bermuda holds the title of richest country in the world by GDP per capita and cost of living continues to balloon with the average house now upwards of $1.5 million.

During my first week in the Regiment, I have been exposed to both positive and negative experiences, some of which will stick in my mind for a lifetime. Within the regiment there are many exemplary individuals who have made the experience enjoyable and have left me with wisdom that hopefully shall benefit me for a lifetime. I certainly would not suggest that the Regiment has some positive value, however, just as there have been positive experiences, there have also been negative ones.

One such experience that sticks out in my mind is the ill treatment of recruits to attempt to push them to their limits. While some may be strong in the heart, body and mind, there are always those who are not. There is nothing that will help me accept the reality of having one fellow recruit tell me that he is 'losing it' and that the next time he steps on the firing range he may well turn his rifle on others as a means of escape from the Regiment that he considers to be a prison.

When approaching a superior with this issue requesting that the he take a moment to calm and reassure the individual, the approach taken was to further agitate the recruit by making him the center of attention and target of ridicule by other recruits. This, of course, only further stressed and upset the individual. Nothing is more scary then the thought of how many recruits could share a similar attitude and if the next time I walk on the range may well be my last. With this one individual I was able to work with him and convince him that he could work through it, that he could succeed and that all he needed to do was take it one step at a time. That regiment for him will only be one blip on his life that he will quickly forget when it is over. While I think he will have the strength to continue on, I can only wonder, are there others who share his view and willingness to do anything to escape the imprisonment that you are certain no recruits feel?

Dealing with these kind of issues are those that are the kind that strike fear in my soul as I know there are individuals who may not be strong enough to handle such an intense environment and one day we may face a very bitter and truly undeserving tragedy which should never have occurred.

I am not sorry to have undertaken my commitment to our country for I believe that everyone should in one form or another do something to help our island be a better place. However, this does not change my position of conscription being inexcusable, discriminatory and utterly the wrong approach to fulfilling the ranks of those needed to serve our country for whatever reason.

I strongly urge you and all Bermudans to seriously reconsider the approach we use in fulfilling the needs of our community. If any alternative solution were to be proposed, I strongly would recommend the consideration of eliminating the draft in favor of a mandatory number of hours of community service imposed upon all Bermudans whose distribution is left up to choice. This would include those who have attained status through birth, lineage or marriage and not discriminate based upon sex or age.

If under these conditions the Bermuda Regiment as one of the options still cannot fulfill it's ranks, then serious consideration should be put forth as to it's validity, it's value to the community and what it offers.

Prisoners?

Corrections: Apologies to Major Stephen Caton as I had misspelt his name in my original post, likely due to lack of sleep and the short time frame for posting this article.

When commenting on the popular online blog LimeyinBermuda.com, Major Stephen Caton, the public relations officer for the Bermuda Regiment can be quoted as suggesting "having presented to all of the Recruits ... I can assure you ... that none see themselves prisoners."

When looking up the definition of the word prisoner in the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, which is defined as "a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process. ", where custody is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as "The state of being detained or held under guard", could any individual presently in the regiment feel restricted via similar means?

Are our youth being subjected to treatment likened to that which they consider themselves prisoners? At least one can guarantee that Major Caton is wrong, as this writer is one who sees himself as a prisoner as he presently serves his time in this years 2007 recruit camp.

Being required by law to join regiment is little different from being imprisoned or enslaved. As defined by the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, a slave is "a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person". While attending recruit camp, are recruits not placed under the custody of their superiors and kept under guard unable to leave or resign by their own will?

Does refusal to follow the influence of those superiors not result in punishments of up to 28 days in regimental lockup for each offense, potentially jeopardizing external life and forcing an individual to sacrifice their career? Do attempts to leave or not appear as required result in punishment legally bound through the Defense Act of 1965 which could result in a prison sentence and criminal record that could effectively disable an individual from attaining employment or traveling for the rest of their lifetime?

What of the fear propaganda where recruits are constantly reminded that if they don't follow orders they shall be locked up? Like how Corporals who run each barracks read out months old articles describing the prison sentences received for those who chose to not fulfill their legally bound requirement. Along with posting them as a reminder that those who step out of line will be punished. Is this not an example of a person who is confined as a result of legal process?

What of the 18 hour days during recruit camp? Where individuals are forced to constantly run and perform tasks as demanded by their superiors. Are they not forced to ask permission to eat, sleep, attend the bathroom? Are they not confined to their rooms after lights out and forced to pee in a bag should they need to urinate between the hours of 11pm and 5:30am? Sleep often falling shy of these hours due to extra duties that will result in further punishment?

Could 18 hour days at a rate of less then $4.00 an hour, which is less then the minimum wage of most developed nations not be likened to slave wages? Especially when Bermuda has now been defined as the richest country in the world based upon GDP per capita? Why should individuals be forced to give up weeks of good wages in exchange for meager ones in the face of Bermuda's continually rising cost of living?

Why is discrimination acceptable on the basis of age and sex not just in the process of drafting individuals, but also in the regiment itself? Is it not true that women can have braided designs in their hair while men are forced to maintain a 1/4 inch length and are absolutely restricted from having any form of design or pattern in their hair?

How can turning a blind eye to the policy of a random draft be any different then when white people turned a blind eye to slavery in our past? Is the excuse of "it's a tradition, it has been done for years" a reasonable one? Was it for slavery? Is the excuse of "we won't have enough men to fill our ranks" no different then the argument of "we won't have enough blacks to fill our plantation"? The plantations moved on to find other more reasonable means of filling their ranks, why can't the regiment?

Do you hold the attitude that "it's not happening to me so why should I worry"? In that case, what makes you any different then those complacent whites who stood back in the days of slavery and segregation to allow it to happen simply because they were not the targets of injustice?

Is Major Caton correct when he suggests that no recruits see themselves as prisoners? Perhaps. The very consideration may rest on the definition of the word. One thing is clear. Freedom, at least for now, is limited to those who rest outside the gates of Warwick camp.