He's abseiled down cliffs, jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet and hiked for miles with heavy loads on his back as an infantry officer, but next month Capt. Brian Gonsalves faces his sternest test yet.

On December 1, the 28-year-old former Bermuda Regiment platoon commander becomes Governor Lord Waddington's right-hand man with the departure of current aide-de-camp Capt. Edward Lamb.

Already Capt. Gonsalves is getting a sense of what he will face in his new job as he reads a 57-page series of notes prepared by Capt. Lamb and has daily meetings with Government House staff and other officials.

Nevertheless, he said he looks forward to the job, which -- next to jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet -- he admits is one of the most challenging things he has ever done.

After graduating in business management from Florida's St. Leo College, Capt.

Gonsalves joined the Bermuda Regiment in 1988 as a volunteer, becoming a lieutenant in 1989.

Unlike other soldiers who endure the two-week boot camp in January, Capt.

Gonsalves went directly into officer cadet training because of his four successful years in the American military's Reserved Officer Training course.

During his training, he soldiered at such American bases as Fort Bragg, Fort Benning and paratroop exercises in Columbus, Georgia.

He has also gone to overseas camps in Jamaica, North Carolina and Canada with the Regiment.

"The ROTC commissions more than 70 percent of the officers which then go onto the army, navy, airforce or marines,'' he explained.

"My military training was done full-time although I also did my university classes too.'' For many, that would present numerous difficulties, but for Capt. Gonsalves this presented one more hurdle along a military career path that began at age 14 in the junior leaders.

A self described soldier to the core, Capt. Gonsalves acted as honourary aide-de-camp to former Governor Sir Desmond Langley, completed a commissioning course at Sandhurst in England and attended the Royal School of Infantry at Warminster.

"I'm indebted to Capt. Larry Mussenden for encouraging more junior officers to be honorary aides-de-camp.

"In 1991 I had my first opportunity to serve in this capacity when I accompanied His Excellency to a medical convention at the Hamilton Princess hotel.

"I was extremely nervous but everything went off without a hitch.'' Although currently working feverishly to ensure a smooth transition, Capt.

Gonsalves said he will be leaning heavily on his experiences as a Regiment officer to get him through any early difficulties.

"I enjoy working with people and I am a team player so I intend to project a professional attitude and portray the best of Government House to the public.

"But more importantly, I expect that it will be a hectic job at times and I will try to inject some humour into the daily routine.

"To be honest, I consider myself fortunate to have been selected to serve as aide-de-camp and intend to maintain and uphold the high standards that have already been set by my predecessors.'' He's abseiled down cliffs, jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet and hiked for miles with heavy loads on his back as an infantry officer, but next month Capt. Brian Gonsalves faces his sternest test yet.

On December 1, the 28-year-old former Bermuda Regiment platoon commander becomes Governor Lord Waddington's right-hand man with the departure of current aide-de-camp Capt. Edward Lamb.

Already Capt. Gonsalves is getting a sense of what he will face in his new job as he reads a 57-page series of notes prepared by Capt. Lamb and has daily meetings with Government House staff and other officials.

Nevertheless, he said he looks forward to the job, which -- next to jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet -- he admits is one of the most challenging things he has ever done.

After graduating in business management from Florida's St. Leo College, Capt.

Gonsalves joined the Bermuda Regiment in 1988 as a volunteer, becoming a lieutenant in 1989.

Unlike other soldiers who endure the two-week boot camp in January, Capt.

Gonsalves went directly into officer cadet training because of his four successful years in the American military's Reserved Officer Training course.

During his training, he soldiered at such American bases as Fort Bragg, Fort Benning and paratroop exercises in Columbus, Georgia.

He has also gone to overseas camps in Jamaica, North Carolina and Canada with the Regiment.

"The ROTC commissions more than 70 percent of the officers which then go onto the army, navy, airforce or marines,'' he explained.

"My military training was done full-time although I also did my university classes too.'' For many, that would present numerous difficulties, but for Capt. Gonsalves this presented one more hurdle along a military career path that began at age 14 in the junior leaders.

A self described soldier to the core, Capt. Gonsalves acted as honourary aide-de-camp to former Governor Sir Desmond Langley, completed a commissioning course at Sandhurst in England and attended the Royal School of Infantry at Warminster.

"I'm indebted to Capt. Larry Mussenden for encouraging more junior officers to be honorary aides-de-camp.

"In 1991 I had my first opportunity to serve in this capacity when I accompanied His Excellency to a medical convention at the Hamilton Princess hotel.

"I was extremely nervous but everything went off without a hitch.'' Although currently working feverishly to ensure a smooth transition, Capt.

Gonsalves said he will be leaning heavily on his experiences as a Regiment officer to get him through any early difficulties.

"I enjoy working with people and I am a team player so I intend to project a professional attitude and portray the best of Government House to the public.

"But more importantly, I expect that it will be a hectic job at times and I will try to inject some humour into the daily routine.

"To be honest, I consider myself fortunate to have been selected to serve as aide-de-camp and intend to maintain and uphold the high standards that have already been set by my predecessors.'' COOL AIDE -- Paratrooping former platoon commander Capt. Brian Gonsalves takes over as Governor Lord Waddington's aide-de-camp on December 1.