to exempt four Rastafarians from service in the Bermuda Regiment is unimportant. What is important is that if this continues the Bermuda Regiment will have serious problems and the situation must be remedied.

We have nothing against exemptions for genuine conscientious objectors.

However they should be required to put in the time in a capacity which benefits the Bermuda Regiment and under Regiment discipline. If that does not happen we will have a situation where everyone summoned to military service will claim exemption and the Regiment will be unable to function. It is not difficult to see that very soon short-haired Bermudians with little knowledge of Ras Tafari will be claiming exemption.

Poorly supervised community service is not the answer. There are Regiment duties outside the firing line which can be fulfilled on the same schedule as the soldiers and for the same periods of time. People can conscientiously object to handling guns and to being asked to take part in shooting but they cannot conscientiously object to serving in a non-combat position.

It is certainly time to review the law as it applies to Regiment service. We must agree with Lt. Col. David Burch, the commanding officer, when he is quoted as saying, "We must as a community expeditiously correct this wrong.

We have raised the spectre of copycat applications. So far these alarm bells are not being heard where they need to be.'' Lt. Col. Burch, of course, has a regiment to run and he cannot be expected to succeed without recruits.

As Lt. Col. Burch has said, "We have already seen an increase in the number of applications but we expect the flood gates to have completely opened during the annual call-up process.'' Of course they will. We do not think the tribunal thought that through.

People who object to Bermuda Regiment service have human rights but so do other people. Regiment duty is not a volunteer function. If it were then everyone has a right not to volunteer. People are drafted into the Regiment, often at great inconvenience to themselves, and it is folly to allow some to enjoy light community service because they find reasons not to serve.

If we are to have a Bermuda Regiment then it must be supported. It may be that politicians see exemptions from duty as a means of keeping people happy but Bermuda cannot have it both ways. If we continue to allow these exemptions then everyone drafted has a right to say they object to service.