New Regiment Commander Brian Gonsalves has pledged to make it more attractive to volunteers through modernising kit and equipment and boosting training opportunities.

Lt. Col. Gonsalves hopes that this, together with perks such as improved pay and trips overseas, will make Warwick Camp a more enticing option.

The need to attract more volunteer soldiers has been a hot topic since BermudiansAgainst the Draft launched their court action to get the controversial policy of conscription to the Regiment outlawed.

The group which is appealing to the UK PrivyCouncil after losing in the local courts argues that a Regiment more attractive to volunteers would render mandatory call-up unnecessary.

Lt. Col. Gonsalves, who has spent two decades working his way up the Bermuda Regiment ranks, hopes to usher in a fresh era where more young people will willingly volunteer for Regiment duty and then want to stay on. However, he is under no illusions that this goal will be an easy one to achieve.

"It's going to be difficult for us.I'm asking for more time from somebody," he said. "You are looking at someone who thinks:'I already have a job; I already have a family; I'm in a church group; I'm in a sports group. Now the Regiment has called me.

'"We can be quite demanding on time. It's that bad four-letter word. We need to make it attractive. How do we make it attractive?"

So the Regiment has been hitting careers fairs and making presentations at schools to spread the word, trying to appeal to teenagers shortly before they hit 18.

One selling point is the 26 countries visited by Bermuda Regiment soldiers in the course of duty since 1965.Another is the offer of training in leadership skills, and the chance to feel part of a team.

Pay is also better than it was, thanks to a remuneration package two years ago which saw large increases for all soldiers and officers, while performance bonuses of up to $1,000 are now available annually.

"If you want to come here, you can learn something from it; you can come out fitter," said Lt. Col. Gonsalves.

"We haven't been as good as we (should) have been in getting the information out there. We have done a lot better in the last couple of years. Eighteen-year-old boys are boys. They are impressed by flashy items and new equipment."

Some say the comradeship offered is a unique attraction.

"It brings people from all walks of life together," said Lt. Col. Gonsalves. "You get people from Middletown and from Fairylands.

"They end up thinking: 'He may have been from a different school, but we are in the same uniform, he sweats just like me, he's tired just like me, shares the same ideals. Hey, let's go drinking together'."

Lt. Col. Gonsalves says that sense of unity is one of the things that's fuelled his desire to make his mark in the Regiment. He reached the top at a ceremony on Saturday, May 30, when he officially took over from Lt. Col. William White.

"It's been a relatively easy transition," he said. "Lt. Col. White and I have had a good working relationship. I got well briefed. Now I have to keep reminding myself to answer the phone saying I'm the Commanding Officer. I'm the guy with the 'X' on his back now."

Lt. Col. Gonsalves concluded the ceremonial speech with a motivational cry of "Hurrah!" in a move he concedes would make the British cringe as much as it would impress the Americans. He thinks the Bermudians fall some way in between.

"It's supposed to get them psyched up," he said. "They are supposed to say it back. Not everyone gets into it, more of the younger guys do. It's meant to be lighthearted."

He tries to balance those motivational skills with a frank 'what you see is what you get' veneer and a 'by the book' attitude on discipline. 'By the book' is also probably one way of describing his response when quizzed about Home Affairs Minister David Burch's criticism of his appointment earlier this year.

Former Commanding Officer Sen. Burch had publicly said of the Governor's selection of Lt. Col. Gonsalves:"I want to make it clear that neither the Government or myself agree with or support it."

So how does Lt. Col. Gonsalves, who served under Sen. Burch when he was in charge in the mid-1990s, feel about those remarks two months before he even began his new job?

"I look forward to working with him in my capacity as Commanding Officer of the Regiment."

How does it make him feel that his appointment has been criticised by the very man he's going to be working alongside to steer the Bermuda Regiment forward?"

I look forward to working with him in my capacity as Commanding Officer of the Regiment."

Does he feel he now has a point to prove to Sen. Burch? Lt. Col. Gonsalves says he is content with his relationship with Sen. Burch and his Ministry, and hopes that between them they can make the most of a reduced budget.

"My team and I are going to have to look at potentially what ways to offset costs in certain areas. It's going to be challenging, but we are working through it," he said.