Bermuda's top military man last night sent a stark warning to the 190 people who have failed to come forward for regimental boot camp, stating: "You can run, but you can't hide."

Lt. Col. Edward Lamb said Regimental Police would hound out the the draft dodgers, no matter how long it took, and said they would even be at football matches on Sunday to pick up some of the players.

He said from an original list of about 330 young men that were listed in absentia, about 190 have not shown up to register for this weekend's boot camp.

He said there were about 160 new recruits ready to begin their two-week camp on Sunday, but the Regiment was looking to bolster that by about another 40.

"We shall continue the hunt and we may not find you today or tomorrow, or next week or even next month, but we will eventually get you," Lt. Col. Lamb warned last night. "You can run, but you can't hide because eventually we will get you.

"Certainly, the Regimental Police will intensify their efforts over the next few days. We want to clear this list of 190 names.

"There are also guys playing in Bermuda, some prominent footballers who refuse to go through the process, so we will be back on the football pitches on Sunday looking for them."

The regiment chief said it may be that some of the people on the list are overseas, but the Bermuda Regiment simply did not know, so he appealed for family members to come forward with information.

And he said it may be that some people on the list could be deferred for educational reasons, while others may not be medically fit and so may fail the health tests.

"The irony is that a lot of these guys may be exempted from the service either for medical or educational reasons, but they don't know that until they present themselves to be processed," said Lt. Col. Lamb.

"We want people to come forward so we can get through this administrative nightmare. We want their names off the list one way or another.

"Clearly, there are some people who are not living in Bermuda any longer, but because no one has notified the Defence Department their names are still on the list.

"We want everyone accounted for. We don't want to be carrying forward these names to next year."

Lt. Col. Lamb said the Bermuda Regiment would continue to be under strength unless it recruited about 200 young men this year and next.

And he said the Regimental Police would continue to search for draft dodgers to ensure young men served their country.

However, the Regiment chief thanked members of the community, including some employers, for calling the Regiment in Warwick with information about the whereabouts of some dodgers.

"The message I want to send out to these young men now is that we have consistently urged them to do the right thing, and we are urging them to do the right thing now."

To contact the Regiment - 238-1045.