The hunt will be on in the New Year, as the Bermuda Regiment begins rounding up recruits who have failed sign up for duty.

Lt. Col. Eddie Lambe said that he remains optimistic about raising the number of new recruits from 110 to as many as 200.

?I have to remain optimistic, I am refusing to give in,? he said. ?We will track down these guys.?

Lt. Col. Lambe encouraged anyone who has not gone to Warwick Camp to sign up as soon as possible, as they were officially recruited when the list ran in the newspaper earlier this year.

He said: ?Some people are away in school and others would be disqualified for medical reasons ? like a pin in their leg.

?We have been out looking for these guys and we have only managed to find a few who have not answered their call of duty.?

The search will begin this week of so that the new recruits will be ready for January 11 when the new camp season begins.

?At the moment they are hidden in nooks and crannies,? said Lt. Col. Lambe.

Some 25 percent of last year?s recruits have been promoted, he added, which means that they put in twice as much time as their contemporaries.

?They volunteered for extra service and they have been on two trips, one to Canada and one to Morocco,? he said.

?These guys are now singing the praises of the Army ? it has opened their minds.?

He said the Bermuda Regiment was all about upward mobility and personal enhancement of young people in the community.

?Many people have made lifelong friendships within the army,?

?It changes their attitudes when they come in ? many times they are anti Army, but what we find is that they are often anti-discipline and that they do not want to be told what to do.

?It is an issue of giving back to the community and the Regiment is about empowering young people.?