"Far too often, we in the Regiment have to deal with someone who is an unemployed, weed-smoking, crack-smoking, dope-snorting, drug-dealing alcoholic father of no fixed abode."

That's according to the Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Eddie Lamb, who yesterday stressed the important part the Bermuda Regiment plays in dealing with the myriad of social problems facing young men in Bermuda today.

Lt. Col. Lamb was the guest speaker at the Hamilton Rotary Club luncheon.

"Some of the young men only have one or two of the mentioned problems, but it is not uncommon for us to have to deal with a soldier who has several of them. Of course these are in the minority, but they reflect the alarming number, and the severity, of the social problems in this country," he said.

He said these young men were the products of Bermuda's society and the Regiment finds itself repeatedly having to deal with them.

"Now I am not saying that the Regiment is the only answer to our social problems, but for many young men, the first close-up exposure to a man, and I'm not just talking about a male, is when they enter the gates of Warwick Camp. In Warwick Camp, a soldier is taught to take his rightful place in society and perform his function properly ? as a soldier, as a man, as a father and as an adult," Lt. Col. Lamb said.

He said this includes living a decent, law-abiding life and taking care of his responsibilities as an adult.

Lt. Col. Lamb said all soldiers are taught to take responsibility for their actions and to stop making excuses for their lot in life and to make positive choices

"We give them step by step guidance on how to remedy their plight. We refer those who need it to professional agencies for counselling when necessary, and make the arrangements for them to attend the sessions, then we monitor the counselling and its progress. We give them a man's advice on how to deal with this thing called life, something many of them have either never had before, or chose to ignore," he said.

He said he felt many of Bermuda's social problems stemmed from the lack of fathers playing their roles in the lives of their sons and daughters, along with the effects of dysfunctional families. "We are very successful in this regard and have turned around many young men with a disciplined, logical and honest approach to coping with their social ills. We even offer temporary accommodation to soldiers who are homeless in order to help them get back on track," he said.

He added that the Regiment also offered advice on how to be a father, including paying child support, how to go about getting and keeping a job, how to get off and stay off drugs and alcohol and the result was usually a better man who is likely to be a more productive citizen.

The theme at this year's recruitment camp was "A Better Man, a Better Bermuda", and Lt. Col. Lamb said he believed in that process.

"Most of our soldiers are indeed productive and positive and this country could be proud of how they serve their country," he said.

Lt. Col. Lamb went on to praise the Bermuda Regiment Cadets which currently involves some 700 students from across the Island.

The Band and Corps of Drums, along with a Gombey troupe, the Bermuda Island Pipe Band and Robert Simons left for Germany last night to perform at the annual Bremen Music Festival from January 27 to 30.

"This is just another example of the Bermuda Regiment representing the entire country on the world stage and all of Bermuda should be proud of what this magnificent band does on our behalf," he said.

Lt. Col. Lamb concluded by saying the annual overseas camp would be held in Grenada from February 19 to March 19 this year and that the Bermuda Regiment would be assisting in the recovery efforts following the destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan last year.

He said it was a chance for Bermuda to assist in the global community and the Regiment would be deployed primarily to do roof rebuilding on several public buildings like schools.