Regiment commanding officer Lt. Col. Eddie Lamb has called three soldiers ?idiots? after they were arrested at Bermuda International Airport on suspicion of trying to import drugs when they returned from training in Jamaica.

And he said one of those now being questioned by Police was someone he had personally rescued from a life sleeping rough on the streets, giving him a job and paying for dental bills to offer him a new start in life.

He spoke out at a press conference held to mark The Regiment?s successful completion of a two-week training exercise Rock Solid I in Jamaica.

The arrest of the soldiers was reported in a support story on the front page of yesterday?s ? a decision criticised by Premier Alex Scott who attended the media call at Warwick Camp.

The Premier took issue with the prominence of the story, contrasting it with two articles about The Regiment?s exercise in Jamaica that appeared on inside pages during the past two weeks.

He claimed the newspaper had not given equal treatment to positive stories about the Regiment?s exercise.

After voicing his criticism he was asked whether it wasn?t constructive for the story to receive such a high profile as it sent out a message that anyone, regardless of status, suspected of bringing drugs onto the Island would be caught and dealt with by the authorities.

Mr. Scott responded he would have liked to have seen a headline on the positive work of the 235 other soldiers, for the benefit of the parents whose sons and daughters ?follow the straight and narrow? as part of The Regiment and as an incentive to others. ?Yes, I?m sure (the story) will make a point of some sort, but I think it is regrettable that, in this day in age, in this little community the press could not dispense its headlines in an even way. Out of all the stories generated about The Regiment going to Jamaica the only one that got on the front page was about those three.?

However, Lt. Col. Lamb, told the Premier that ?whilst there were three idiots? the 238 other soldiers had acquitted themselves well.

For the commanding officer it was particularly personal as one of those arrested under the Misuse of Drugs Act at the airport on Tuesday was someone he had recruited himself and given personal assistance.

?One of those individuals I personally gave employment to. I took him off the streets when he was living in bus shelters and Victoria Park, gave him somewhere to live and sent him to dentist and paid out of my own pocket his dental fees, gave him employment,? said Lt. Col. Lamb.

But he said the arrest of the three soldiers should not reflect on the rest of The Regiment.