ONE hundred and sixty-two recruits commenced training on the Basic Recruit Course (BRC) 2021-01 this week. Addressing the opening ceremony for the course, Colonel General Staff, Julius Skeete, commended the new recruits for choosing to serve the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and their country. “All good decisions must be supported and you need to support this decision you have taken to become soldiers in the Guyana Defence Force. The decision you’ve made to become a soldier will not be such a good decision if you are unable to support it by being obedient,” he said. Colonel Skeete also urged the recruits to give their full attention to the five main components of the training.

“The first component is fitness. You must be fit to be a competent soldier; hence, the reason for all the running and doubling,” he said, adding that: “Secondly, is obedience. If you are unable to deliver the level of obedience required for a soldier, you will find that your days with the GDF will be limited, short-lived. Third is loyalty. You have to be loyal to the GDF, to this uniform, to be amongst us you must be loyal. You cannot serve your army, the military and indeed this great nation of ours if you are disloyal,” he made clear.

Colonel Skeete emphasised too that discipline was an imperative. “You have to be disciplined to be a soldier in any army anywhere in the world. And finally, skills: the modules taught during this course teach you the skills necessary to be useful soldiers when you graduate,” he noted. The Colonel General Staff urged the potential soldiers to ensure that they remain focussed and always cognisant of those key aspects of the training. Nineteen-year-old Armando Singh, who is undergoing training on the course, said his desire to enlist stemmed from seeing his father in uniform and listening to him recount stories of life as a serviceman.

“I’m ecstatic! My friend told me that the GDF was recruiting and I am grateful that I passed the various requirements to enlist. Spending time as an apprentice at Band Corps only aided in increasing my love and confidence that a military career is what I want to dedicate myself to achieving,” he said. Another recruited for training, Wendell Osborne, 20, who hails from the Essequibo Islands, expressed gratitude and said that his success in passing the requirements to be selected for training was God answering his prayer. “This is my first job. My humble upbringing saw me working as an uncertified IT Technician in order to assist my mother financially. Then the pandemic hit, and I had to rethink my life and future.

My cousin, who is a soldier, advised me to enlist and lauded the many opportunities to grow, earn and learn. I’m happy that I heeded his advice and acted on it,” he said. The BRC is designed to regiment civilians, teaching them the skills needed to become Private (PTE) soldiers. During the 12-week course, the recruits will be trained in Skill-at-Arms, Drills (individual and group), Physical Training, Field Craft, Internal Security, Map Reading and Navigation, Open and Close Country Warfare, National Policy, Chief-of-Staff Orders for Opening Fire, and the Values and Standards of the GDF.