The Belize Defence Force is celebrating its thirty first anniversary and what better way to observe the occasion than to welcome a new intake of recruits? Recruit intake number fifty one comprises fifty eight soldiers who successfully completed sixteen weeks of training in combat, jungle tactics and survival skills. While the Governor General Sir Colville Young inspected the new recruits, Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo reminded the graduates that the twenty first century soldier has special responsibilities – much different than his predecessors.
Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security
“The Belizean soldier of this decade is a different soldier from those of the 1970s and 1980s. As Minister responsible for National Security, I have come to appreciate the magnitude of the many tasks our men and women in uniform
take on a 24/7 basis, 265 days a year. The Belizean soldier of today is required to operate and patrol our borders ensuring that our sovereignty and territorial integrity is maintained without any undue incident with our neighbour.
The Belizean soldier in 2009 is required to continuously support law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime and other illegal activities that contribute to the social decay of our communities and the loss of government revenue. As a result of these growing challenges, the modern Belizean soldier has to have increased social skills, particularly when they assist other national agencies.
Being a soldier confers a particular set of disciplinary skills that is much needed in our wider communities. The BDF soldier of today must also develop a humanitarian side in order to assist the Belizean people in times of disasters and other needs. These changing realities mean that the Belizean soldier of today needs to be highly trained, properly supervised, resolute and ready to meet the challenges of today’s incredibly demanding and dangerous environments.”
Later on we’ll have more from today’s passing out as we feature a musical performance from the visiting Louisiana National Guard as they teamed up with the BDF army band.
