Regiment Commander William White will meet British MPs visiting the Island next week, to counter allegations made by Bermudians Against the Draft.

He revealed the news yesterday as he issued a statement denying a culture of racism and excessive punishment exists at Warwick Camp. Here are his remarks in full:

"The organisation Bermudians Against the Draft, also known by the acronym BAD, and Mr. Larry Marshall Sr, have made certain allegations in their cause of abolishing conscription in Bermuda. These allegations, to my knowledge, have been well publicised in the local media, in articles submitted to the local press, on various websites and talk shows, made into a song, and submitted in written form to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK House of Commons. The allegations refer to incidents of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, racism, and excessive punishments, and are framed in terms of very emotive concepts like slavery, discrimination, oppression, forced labour, and draconian measures.

Neither I nor the Regiment have to date offered any public comment on these allegations, as the allegations were being acclaimed by BAD to be the main thrust of their court action, and I, as Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, had been specifically named as a defendant in the matter. As the court action has now concluded, I am taking this opportunity to respond publicly on behalf of the Regiment, on those specific allegations raised by BAD which refer to the internal functioning of the Regiment, its policies and procedures, and the actions of its Officers and other ranks.

I make this public statement today as none of these allegations have been brought before the Chief Justice by BAD's own legal team in the court action just concluded, and have not therefore been the subject of argument and counter argument in open court, and consequentially have, until now, remained unchallenged.

On the allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse I can speak authoritatively for the period of almost two years that I have been Commanding Officer on those matters raised as a result of a complaint either from within the Regiment or brought to my attention by the Bermuda Police Service. Each complaint has been the subject of thorough investigation and enquiry, and has been dealt with conclusively under the provisions of the Defence Act 1965.

There have been only three complaints of any physical abuse of a soldier in the Regiment. There have been no complaints made of any sexual or emotional abuse in the Regiment. I have dealt on two occasions with matters that came to my attention in the Bermuda Cadet Corps.

There has been one instance where a junior commander exceeded his authority and imposed conditions on his men that were not authorized or sanctioned by Regimental procedure or established practice. During Recruit Camp 2007 in one specific barrack room a Junior Non Commissioned Officer restricted his men to the barrack block after lights out after suspicions of drug use had been raised. This apparently was done in an overabundance of caution to ensure maximum accountability of his men. This had the unfortunate result of requiring individuals to urinate in containers or otherwise relieve themselves. This instance was not raised until Camp was concluded, and was immediately addressed once it was raised, both as a disciplinary case with the individual concerned, and by way of restating the approved policy to the rest of the command team.

On the allegation that the bathroom facilities are filthy, the bathrooms are monitored daily, they are subject to regular and thorough cleaning, and are in very good order in regards to the physical plant.

On the allegation of the use of profanity, the policy is that the dignity of the individual must be respected. By this I mean that swearing must not be used to abuse, intimidate or insult others. However, the Regiment is a microcosm of our society, and idiomatic, cathartic or emphatic swearing is tolerated.

On the allegation that individuals are shouted at, or in some way disrespected by the action of shouting, by Officers, again, the policy is that the dignity of the individual should be respected at all times. The development of a loud and authoritative voice is encouraged in all commanders so as to clearly communicate orders or instructions. And those orders are communicated as exactly that, as orders, not communicated in a manner that is common in the civilian world such as polite requests or pleas for assistance or help. I have 250 commanders currently on the books of the Regiment, and 484 private soldiers. All 250 commanders are called an officer of one type or another. There are 138 Junior Non-Commissioned Officers (JNCO), 51 Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCO), 27 Warrant Officers and 34 Commissioned Officers and Officer Cadets, all carrying out their respective duties in the chain of command. It is far more likely for a Junior or Senior NCO to be giving instructions or orders to a private soldier than it is for a Commissioned Officer.

On the allegation of racism, the Regiment is a microcosm of Bermuda, and the prejudices, stereotyping and class associations prevalent in our society are imported into Warwick Camp. I can speak authoritatively for the period of almost two years that I have been Commanding Officer and certainly state that the issue of racism has not been raised as a complaint about restriction, exclusion or preference in the Regiment by any soldier. On the allegation that a disproportionate number of young black males are conscripted and serve, I have no statistics or data to offer, as the racial makeup of each intake is not available. In addition, the Regiment is not responsible for the draft, nor does it ask, on any form or document, for an individual to state what he considers to be his race or ethnicity.

Questions have been raised about the racial makeup of the Officers Mess in particular. It is my opinion that of the 34 Commissioned Officers and Officer Cadets currently in the Regiment, 19 would refer to themselves as black and 15 would refer to themselves as white. I believe it is also significant to note that of the junior Officers, ranked Captain and below, who are by definition the more recent additions, the proportion is 15 black and 8 white.

On the allegation of excessive punishment, specifically incarceration, the application of this disciplinary measure is specified in the Defence Act 1965.

The Defense Act allows the Commanding Officer to award a punishment of Camp Detention for specified offences under certain circumstances for periods up to twenty eight days. If these powers available to the Commanding Officer are seen as insufficient in respect of the actual offence committed, or in the light of previous punishments already awarded to the soldier, the Commanding Officer can send the case to be decided by a Magistrate in Magistrates Court. The Magistrate can award a maximum punishment of three months in prison, but in most cases on first appearance before the Magistrate a suspended sentence or a fine is given.

Camp detention has been given by the Commanding Officer to three soldiers in 2005, two soldiers in 2006, two soldiers in 2007, and one soldier so far in 2008.

An immediate prison sentence has been given by the Magistrate to two soldiers in 2005, four soldiers in 2006, and three soldiers in 2007. Of these sentences, both cases in 2005, and two of the three cases in 2007, were given to soldiers who had a previous history of appearance before the Magistrate on similar offences.

On the allegation that all soldiers recently awarded a prison sentence are black, it is my opinion that of the nine soldiers jailed by the Magistrate as mentioned above since 2005, three would refer to themselves as white.

On the allegation that the jail and cells in use at Warwick Camp are 'third world", the jail is used by both the Regiment and the Bermuda Police Service. The condition of the cells are monitored daily, they are kept hygienically clean, and are maintained in good physical order.

On the allegation that prisoners are incarcerated in their underwear, the Regiment applies the same policy as the Bermuda Police Service, in that an individual only strips down to his underwear for the purposes of search, and is then allowed to dress in prisoner uniform. Only where a prisoner is considered a threat to his own safety would he be kept in minimal clothing.

On the allegation that prisoners are improperly restrained, the Regiment has previously stated and I restate here that leg irons have not been used since 2001. The Regiment does use hand cuffs, and applies the same policy as the Bermuda Police Service, in that hand cuffs are only used if the prisoner is a flight risk. The decision on whether the individual is a flight risk or not is made by the person responsible for the prisoner's custody.

Lastly, on the allegation that soldiers are inadequately paid, a first year private soldier currently makes $120.92 a day. A soldier's pay band goes up annually dependant on his rank and length of service in that rank.

I hope the public find this statement useful and informative. The internal functioning of the Regiment, its policies and procedures, and the actions of its Officers and other ranks are open to scrutiny and criticism. We are a human organisation, and as such are not perfect. But where allegations are unfounded, are exaggerated, or have no factual basis, they damage the good reputation of a fine institution and diminish the good work performed by dedicated and committed individuals who are providing real service to their community."

Lt Col William K White, ED, pmsc

Commanding Officer

Bermuda Regiment