September 10, 2014

Dear Sir,

I note Mr Marshall’s comments on the Regiment in your letters column on 9 September (‘Good pay at the Regiment? Do the maths’). He asked me to respond — and as we are recruiting I thought I would also use the opportunity to invite those who wish to know what really happens in the Regiment to attend our Open House from 2:30pm on Saturday the 20th of September.

Like the British Army — and most armies, we pay wages by the day (currently $142.95 for a new Private) or part day for drill nights. Dividing this up by the hour is misleading. It includes periods when soldiers are conducting activities that most employers who pay by the hour would not cover, including: playing sport, adventurous training, travelling overseas, being on R&R and of course sleeping.

For some, no amount of money will be sufficient. But many clearly think service is rewarding. Just over half the Regiment are volunteers and the proportion is increasing. Further, it is odd to criticise full time staff wages as too high and part time soldiers as too low. Pro-rata they are paid at exactly the same rate. Also, my wages are paid by the UK MOD, not the Bermudian taxpayer.

To address another inaccurate assertion: fines are indeed part of the military discipline system, but are used extremely sparingly.

The small sum — less than $10,000 in the current year — received from fines does not stay, as Mr Marshall suggests, in the Regiment but goes to the consolidated fund in central government.

People — women and men, young and ‘nearly young’ — are increasingly choosing to volunteer. Last year, 44% of our intake was volunteers, nearly half of them women. Arguably, if you are anti-conscription you should be pro-volunteering. Men and women with a spirit of adventure and sense of service are invited to find out more on the 20th of September, or online at www.bermudaregiment.bm.

Yours faithfully,

Lieutenant Colonel ME

FOSTER-BROWN

Commanding Officer

Bermuda Regiment