Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Edward Lamb's warning that soldiers missing drills, or recruits failing to show up to recruit camp will be hunted down and taken to Warwick Camp is timely.

The problems the Regiment has faced in recent years of both getting recruits to show up and its soldiers to fulfil their duties have been getting worse and worse.

The bottom line is that young Bermudian men are required to register for service and those who are selected are required to give three years of part-time service.

The truth is that with the exception of conscientious objectors, service in the Regiment is not unduly onerous. Private soldiers are required to attend training for one evening a week and do an overnight stay about once every six weeks. Once a year they are required to do a two-week camp where the most intensive training takes place.

For those - and they include some of the most reluctant recruits - who actually find themselves enjoying the experience, there are many routes to promotion which includes additional training, not only in weaponry, drill and so on, but in "man management". These are skills that can be readily applied in the real world. It is no coincidence that those who do well as non-commissioned officers and officers in the Regiment tend to do well in their civilian professions as well.

Nonetheless, it is also clear that not all soldiers enjoy their time in the Regiment and many people will do everything they can not to serve.

There seem to be three reasons for this.

One is the manifest unfairness that women are not required to register although some do volunteer.

The second is that not all men are called up. That's because the Regiment does not need every single young man who registers to serve. But it is still unfair.

The third is that army life is not for everyone and that the Regiment does itself a disservice by not making the period of service either attractive or challenging enough.

This is recognised by many in the Regiment itself, and the expansion of the Boat Troop is a direct reflection of this. Not only does it have a role to play, but those who are a part of it enjoy what they do.

If the Regiment could add more Outward Bound sorts of experiences and more activities like scuba diving and so forth, it would make the experience more appealing, without taking anything away from the necessary but sometimes deadening experiences of drill, vehicle checkpoints and the like.

The second solution is to require all young Bermudians to perform some form of public service.

This was promised by the current Government and has also been promoted by various people within the United Bermuda Party. But so far, it has always been all talk and no action.

But young people could give time and effort to organisations that care for the elderly and the young. They could give immense service to environmental organisations like Keep Bermuda Beautiful and the Save Open Spaces. The list goes on and on.

Some young people would still be required to serve in the Regiment. But this does not need to be the only option for young people, most of whom would welcome the chance to serve their community.