Life is slowing returning to normal in the Cayman Islands almost four weeks after hurricane Ivan. And it is in no small part due to the efforts of the three dozen volunteers from the Bermuda Regiment who have been working here now for a week.

Cayman Islanders are, of course, coping with a resilience inherited from their seafaring past. Stories of widespread looting in the immediate aftermath of the category five storm, are untrue or at least greatly exaggerated.

But many residents were still in a state of shock when the Bermuda soldiers arrived ? heaps of garbage were piled outside residences, untouched since the devastation, and the boys from Bermuda set to work within a day.

Without any kind of army or military body, Caymanians were initially somewhat puzzled at the sight of soldiers in uniform in their neighbourhoods, reported Captain Chris Wheddon.

?To see guys in uniform on the street stopping their cars ? because we were closing roads we were clearing ? is a bit of a culture shock for them.

?But what?s been happening in the last two or three days is now the residents are becoming clearer on what we are doing and what our capabilities are. And they are now trying to assist,? said Captain Wheddon.

Soon, however, locals and soldiers were working together doing basic cleanup duty on the roads, covering roofs with tarpaulin and removing debris.

The Regiment soldiers? work is supervised directly by the Caymanian Cabinet which is being advised by an American consultancy headed up by former US General Wesley Clarke.

Soon they will be joined by a contingent of 12 soldiers from Belize, pending the conclusion of formalities.

The Belize team will form a fourth work group and work right alongside the Bermuda Regiment.

The work goes on in intense dry heat for eight hours a day with a half hour lunch break, but nobody?s complaining ? one soldier sported a tee-shirt with the words ?I choose to serve?.

And, reported Captain Wheddon, 12 of the volunteers will be staying on for another two weeks when the current tour of duty ends.

?The moral is very high at the moment, although there are very limited things to do on the Island. There?s still curfew at 10 o?clock. Bars are kicking people out at 9 o?clock.

?The police are around at nine to make sure the bars are shut. Electricity at the camp is provided by generator, we?ve brought down some DVDs and stuff.

?But generally because they?ve seen the amount of devastation here and seen that they are actually doing some good in the community, it is keeping moral high.?

The Government has prioritised five depressed or low-income Georgetown neighbourhoods for the work ? Scranton, Windsor Park, Swamp, Rock Hole and Watlers Drive.

Windsor Park, the first to be tackled, is almost completely cleared of debris in the roads, and the soldiers planned to relax at a neighbourhood block party last night.

?We?re basically making it safe for the residents and reducing the public health risk in the area,? said Captain Wheddon.

The biggest surprise, he said, was the level of debris and devastation on the Island. ?I think that?s what has taken so long for the Caymanians to get things started.

They certainly have started now, but you think back to Fabian and the damage there. In reality it was relatively minor compared to the damage here.?