450 applied, 75 were accepted, and only 60 Belize Defense Force recruits made it to graduation day. The 56 recruits and 4 officer cadets passed out at a ceremony this morning held at Price Barracks in Ladyville. 7NEWS was at the Sir Colville Young Parade Square for it.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This morning 60 recruits marched into the ranks of the Belize Defense Force. Today was the culmination of 20 challenging weeks of rugged training in physical fitness and jungle combat. The recruits were also trained in map reading, skills at arms, and tactics. One recruit who met and exceeded the challenge is 24-year-old Jason Pott. He was intake 49's champion recruit. He says it was a rough 20 weeks.
Pvt. Jason Pott, Champion Recruit
"Most of it was rough, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Most of it was fun because of my intake brothers and sisters and my corporal. They motivated
me, we motivated each other to keep pushing and that makes us where we are right now."
Keith Swift,
How do you feel to be the champion recruit?
Pvt. Jason Pott,
"I am very proud of myself. I know I pushed myself hard."
Keith Swift,
Why did you decide to become a soldier?
Pvt. Jason Pott,
"Well mostly because of my parents. I always wanted to make them proud of me and because I wanted to do something worthwhile instead of idling myself on the street."
Of the 60 recruits, 5 were female. 19-year-old Cynthia Salazar was the champion female recruit. She is following in the footsteps of her brother who is already a soldier. She also withstood what for her was a harsh 20 weeks.
Pvt. Cynthia Salazar, Champion Female Recruit
"I am happy. I am very proud of myself because I did my best in my
training and that's how I feel today."
Keith Swift,
What were the 20 weeks like for you?
Pvt. Cynthia Salazar,
"Well the first six weeks were rough and the ending - which was the final thing was also very hard. I had points that I wanted to give up but in mind I said I had push on. I came to the job to do my best and that's what I did."
19-year-old Adolphord Anderson also did his best. He was honored at this morning's passing out ceremony for being the best shooter - he is called the champion shot.
Pvt. Adolphord Anderson, Champion Shot
"It feels great because this is what all of us were waiting for and putting our all into so it feels good."
Keith Swift,
What were the last 20 weeks like?
Pvt. Adolphord Anderson,
"Really rough, rough - that's all I can really say. A lot of hard work."
But the real hard work lies ahead for Private Anderson and these other new soldiers. Commander of the BDF General Lloyd Gillett says the 60 soldiers will be immediately deployed.
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"They will be deployed in the different companies throughout the country. What we do is we try to assimilate them into companies so that there is no lack of experience in the companies."
Keith Swift,
Will these soldiers instead of goi8ng to the border and in the jungle be sent to the urban jungle Belize City?
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"The constitution of Belize provides for the BDF to provide for the sovereignty and also to support the different government agencies in maintenance of order. So our mission is to support the police in Belize city and also to provide troops to guard the border. So I don't know that there is any conflict between these - they are all part of our mission."
And what that mission is - these soldiers seemed ready to take it on.
Also honored this morning was recruit Nigel Cayetano for champion physical trainer and recruit Shawn Domingo for best field craft. The next intake for the BDF will be in January.
