NEW Chief-of-staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier, George Lewis on Tuesday told his charges that the force must be a credit to this nation and that their every act must be above reproach, even as he railed against spousal and other forms of domestic abuse by the men and women in uniform.Lewis made the remarks in his first address as the military chief at the GDF’s 51 Anniversary, which was marked with a church service held at its headquarters, Camp Ayanganna. “We must remember that this is an honourable profession, one which others in the wider society look to for guidance. Consequently, our conduct must be honourable, at all times. No longer must we see ourselves because we are wearing uniforms as being above the law of this land. We must comply with those laws,” Lewis charged his officers and other ranks. “Officers and ranks who make the decision to break the laws of Guyana, who violate the Defence Regulation and who generally commit acts of civil disobedience must be prepared to face the consequences for their actions. Simply put if you commit the crime be prepared to face the penalty,” the army chief said.

He reminded the soldiers that there are rules governing the usage of our roads and that they must follow them. “Stop speeding; stop refusing the instructions of the policemen and women. Stop abusing your spouses and children; stop stealing particularly cellular phones and generally stop your deviant behaviour since those acts bring the Force into disrepute,” Brigadier Lewis exhorted. He continued: ”my advice to all is to go and find that little green covered book called values and standards. Each one of us was issued with one. Study it from cover to cover and follow it slavishly and we will not go wrong.”

The GDF had in the past attracted unsavoury characters and only late last year, 27-year-old Lance Corporal Aaron Eastman was charged, along with three others, for possession of arms and ammunition. Eastman and the three other men were, in December 2015, nabbed in a car on Regent Street with a sawn-off shotgun and a revolver with matching ammunition. At time of the arrest, the soldier was illegally absent from work, having abandoned his post; and was driving around with suspicious characters. He was caught wearing an overcoat over his uniform, and was driving the car with a shotgun under the seat. The other weapon was found under the other front passenger seat. Eastman was enlisted in the GPF on April 10, 2006.

What kind of defence force
Lewis told the gathering that a key question which must asked and answered at this juncture of the military’s development is: “what kind of Defence Force do we intend to build for the future?”
“I believe we have to look far ahead into the future in order to determine our present actions as what we do today will influence our tomorrow. I see us developing into a Force that continues to enjoy the supreme confidence of the people of this country. By that I mean the mere mention of our name should engender respect from our citizens, civil society and that of the government. We must work to earn that respect through good conduct and professional behaviour.”

The army chief said to determine if they will earn and continue to earn this respect, “we must first look at ourselves. We must look at the way we execute our duties, the values we uphold, the customs we practice and always strive for best practice. It was cases of ill-discipline that resulted in ranks being charged for traffic offences. It was cases of ill-discipline that resulted in spousal abuse and it was cases of integrity that caused ranks to steal. I believe that the fundamental ingredient of discipline is regimentation. If we fail to regiment ourselves then by extension, we will contribute to serious ill-discipline in the Force. Therefore the reemphasising of regimentation and issues surrounding regimentation must be paramount.”

Court martials
Brigadier Lewis said officers too often at Court Martials and summary trial of ranks discover that soldiers absconded because their commanders failed them by not listening and addressing their concerns. Why? Simply because they were too busy. Busy doing what I cannot say. I say to commanders, today, stop being busy looking after yourselves and start focusing on looking after your subordinates. It is not only our duty to do so but we are being paid to do so.”

Lewis said the GDF needs to cultivate a more humanistic command and management climate. “No longer can we only focus merely on the soldier within our military family but now, more than ever, we must focus and promote better relations with the families of our officers and ranks and between those families and ourselves. We must be convinced that strong families will produce a stronger Guyana Defence Force.” He said the family must also include civilian counterparts and veterans. “We must take better care of them. We must tell ourselves that it is our duty to put a human face to our military life and courageously turn from a male-centred organisation to one that is inclusive of our families. I did not get here without, firstly, the support of my deceased parents and later my wife and children. For they all made sacrifices for me. The same exist for each and every officers and ranks in this Force. So let us support the building of stronger families.”

Tuesday’s event also coincided with National Defence Day, which was declared last year by President David Granger. Lewis used the occasion to thank those past and present members of the organisation “for your service, for choosing to lay down your lives for the protection of others in a similar way that Christ gave his life for our sins.”

He urged soldiers to use the church service to do some reflection and introspection. “It a time when we must examine our past, deliberate on the present and chart our course for the future. We must ask ourselves, what does it mean to be 51 years old?” Lewis said he was truly honoured to be at the helm of the Guyana Defence Force at this significant juncture, but cautioned that with change, there is always the difficult task, for some, of adjusting to new management and leadership styles and oftentimes objectives. “Let me assure you that you have nothing to fear from the new leadership once you do your jobs professionally and make positive contributions towards the achievement of our mission.”