A former major has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission about his dismissal from the Royal Bermuda Regiment.

Preston Gill, 48, alleged that he was “medically boarded” out of the RBR — though he insists he was fit for service — after sending a late-night e-mail to senior officers about the recruitment process for the commanding officer post.

Major Gill said he regretted his strongly worded message, sent after several drinks and during a time of “personal strain”, which criticised a decision by Rena Lalgie, then the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the RBR, to advertise abroad for the position.

However, he said, he did not deserve to be dismissed from the military after ten years’ “exemplary” service, during which he was named Officer of the Year three times. He claimed he was kept in the dark about the medical case against him.

“I have been properly wronged, in the strictest sense,” he claimed. “People who go to the regiment, every reservist is twice the citizen.

“We work very hard in our part-time service. We spend years, decades; it’s a way of life. Then, when [I was] having a rough time, I was properly shunned, humiliated, excluded.”

He added: “I never got to wear my uniform again. There was no departure with dignity.”

Major Gill, who previously served in the Canadian Army, joined the RBR in 2014, while a police sergeant.

He was promoted to the rank of major in 2017 and served in various roles, including being in charge of recruit camp.

In May 2022, he was one of a raft of soldiers who tested positive for Covid on an RBR military training exercise at the US Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

On his return to the island, the fintech firm where he worked, Bittrex Global, let him go after it ran into problems with authorities in the United States.

Major Gill’s marriage was also in trouble and he was grieving the deaths of two friends.

After a brief stay in Canada, he returned to Bermuda and lived in barracks at Warwick Camp, finding a new full-time job and continuing with his part-time RBR service.

He said officers were briefed in July 2023 that the Governor planned to advertise for the soon-to-be-vacant commanding officer position in Britain and the Caribbean, as well as locally.

Major Gill felt strongly that the top position should be filled on island and planned to apply himself.

That evening, at a low ebb, he had “several drinks” and penned an e-mail criticising the decision, which he sent to other regiment majors, the CO, the RBR’s honorary colonel and the chairman of the promotions board.

The Gazette has seen the e-mail, in which Major Gill wrote that recruiting abroad for a CO was “contrary to Bermudian law and precedent” and “illicit and inappropriate”.

He repeated twice that he was tendering his immediate resignation and was happy to hand in his kit.

Major Gill said David Gibbons, the honorary colonel, responded citing “insubordination” and, soon after, he was transferred from his company commander’s post to an administrative role at headquarters.

He made clear he regretted the e-mail, had no desire to resign and was going through a “tough time” but said his seniors told him he was no longer “operationally safe” for anything other than a desk job.

Major Gill sought help from a clinical psychologist and asked for time off. While on leave, to his dismay, he got a letter from Ms Lalgie approving the resignation of his commission.

The Governor told him: “There is no doubt in my mind that you have behaved in a manner that is not in keeping with the [regiment’s] values and standards and is not becoming of a member of the Royal Bermuda Regiment, let alone a major.”

Major Gill hired a British solicitor specialising in armed forces law and, on October 13, 2023, the Governor sent a letter rescinding her acceptance of his resignation and returning him “to full strength” in the regiment.

However, Major Gill said he never returned to normal duties after the outgoing CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Beasley, told him a medical board would examine his fitness for service.

Major Gill described feeling “ambushed” when he was examined by three doctors in March 2024 and criticised a written command from Colonel Beasley to provide the board with “any documents and information relating to yours and your family’s history of mental illness, substance use disorder, physical abuse, medical issues, anger management issues and any use of psychiatric services, with diagnoses”.

He gave partial consent for some records of his to be shared, including those written by the clinical psychologist.

Major Gill applied for the CO position but was unsuccessful. Colonel Beasley was succeeded as commanding officer by Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Simons in June 2024.

That Christmas, Major Gill received another letter from the Governor, seen by the Gazette, which said he was dismissed with “immediate effect” after a review and findings by the Defence Medical Board.

Ms Lalgie did not share the findings but cited Section 31(2)(a) of the Defence Act 1965, which allows the Governor to dismiss an officer, after consultation with the Governor’s Council, if “satisfied that an officer is inefficient or that he has been guilty of neglect of duty or misconduct or that for any other cause he should no longer be an officer”.

Major Gill said the letter was “vague” and afforded him no right of appeal.

“I don’t know what information they had to make their determination on,” he said.

He added: “I was never hospitalised, medicated or diagnosed with any condition that would preclude military or operational service.

“I never exhibited suicidal ideation, self-harm or posed a danger to others.

“Instead, I proactively sought help to cope with personal challenges, including marital separation and the suicide of two Canadian Army friends …”

Major Gill is trying to find out more about why he was dismissed through requests under the Public Access to Information and Personal Information Protection acts.

His HRC complaint, filed in April, alleges he was discriminated against on the grounds of perceived disability and disability.

Major Gill, who now lives and works in Toronto and was recently vetted as fit to serve in the Canadian Army, said he was determined to pursue his grievance to ensure other soldiers suffering mental health issues got the support they needed.

Colonel Simons said in a statement: “Although it would be in the interest of telling a balanced story, it would be inappropriate for the regiment to make public the personnel matters of a serving or ex-serving soldier or officer.

“The regiment takes the mental health of our soldiers seriously. All soldiers undertake first-aid training, which includes a mental health module.”

The Commanding Officer said all regiment members had mandatory annual training tests covering values and standards, diversity and inclusion, as well as first aid, and there were “multiple staff in key appointments who are critical stress management qualified and others who have completed the mental health first aiders’ course offered by the BHB”.

“We also have the regiment medical officer and … welfare officer available to support our soldiers,” he said.

He added: “In line with Governors Orders 1993 [now 2025], a soldier or officer may be referred to the Defence Medical Board.

“Any dismissal based on medical grounds is only made on the basis of an assessment by qualified medical professionals providing expert medical opinion.”

The HRC said in a statement: “The Human Rights Commission cannot provide updates through the media on cases.

“The Human Rights Commission is required by Section 30 of the Human Rights Act 1981 to preserve confidentiality with respect to all matters.”

A spokeswoman for Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, said: “Government House will not be commenting on individual cases involving medical issues.”