Later this year, the leadership of the Bermuda Regiment will change hands as Major Edward Lamb succeeds Lt. Col. David Gibbons as Commanding Officer.

By all appearances, Lt. Col. Gibbons has laid a solid foundation in his two-year tenure and has succeeded in healing some of the racial divisions that previously wracked the Regiment.

He has also led the Regiment through a new and challenging task of securing the Island in the wake of September 11 and would seem to have left the Regiment in better condition than he found it - and that is the mark of any successful leader.

That is not to say that Major Lamb will not have several challenges to meet as he takes on command.

One is to ensure that racial divisions are not allowed to fester. The second is to continue to adapt the Regiment to new roles. While the Regiment will always be tasked with supporting the Police in cases of civil unrest, it has expanded its role to include giving support in cases of natural disasters and in other forms of community service. Helping the Regiment to adapt and to continue to serve a useful role will be Major Lamb's biggest challenge.

He will also have the responsibility of justifying the Regiment's conscription system, and this may be his biggest test. Here, the Regiment's best justification is its successful conscripts. The unwilling recruit who becomes a contributor both to the Regiment and to the broader community - like Major Lamb himself - is the best advertisement for the system to continue.