“Old” army buddies

Not my watching the “soldiers” of the B.G. Volunteer Force of my childhood or Mr Burnham’s SSU the “precursor” to today’s GDF. No, those were not really my introduction to the proud men of the old army. Funnily, it was through my association with the then new Guyana National Service (GNS) - and even amateur boxing - that I came into contact with both officer-level personnel and ranks of the GDF.

From then to now, these fellows, some of whom I came close to during my abortive one-year stint in the People’s Militia of the mid-seventies, were and are extremely loyal to and proud of their military institution.

I’ve listened in to their tales of life at New River, in other parts of the hinterland, especially the borderline, frontier Region One, their barroom and barrack-room/mess hall humour; even the fact that there is, or was, an “Amerindian” Reconnaissance Unit, the GDF hinterland intelligence outfit manned by indigenous soldiers. Incidentally, arguably, there have been more Amerindians in the GDF than East Indians!

These former GDF fellows - now in their fifties, sixties-plus, three-quarters of them, no doubt, in the USA, cannot now stand certain developments. Many, quietly, are wont to castigate the present administration for downsizing or diminishing the GDF and its reserves. Some sheepishly admit that that exercise began under the Hoyte regime, despite their obvious loyalty to the PNC’s Burnham, Hoyte, the Party and bygone good old days. You can’t even point to the unprecedented sums spent on the Army since 1993. However, the “old” ex-soldiers are fiercely professional still. To a man, led by vexed ex-members like Herman Harris - the one name I’ll name - they couldn’t stand the insulting, disrespectful behaviour exhibited by some Buxtonian females inches away from a GDF squad, at the height of the Buxton Criminal Disgrace. “In our time, relative or no relative, friend or no friend, comrade or no comrade, those civilians would have been severely disciplined”, was the collective sentiment.

Some very bad soldiers

Just as the old squaddy-network of former GDF here and overseas still feel and demonstrate the pride and integrity of a Force that ranks amongst the best in the English speaking Caribbean, a Force that trained so many international counterparts and actually saw some action in the Rupununi border Region, in the same manner they would silently note the dubious role the Army played in the electoral engineering of the general elections between, say ‘73 and ‘85.

And they must be disappointed and embarrassed at the number of former young members - retired or fired - well-trained and who decided to utilize their military skills for evil deeds. I suppose you could construct a similar list from the Police Rejects. But just glance at this ex-GDF rogues gallery, sent to me when Blackie the Bandit was on the rampage more than two year ago.

Henry Subner, `Eyelash” - shot dead by police, Orson Benn, “Jungle Commando”, shot dead by police; Godfrey Smith -Soldier” - in prison for murder, Cecil Albert Mc Donald, “Beast” - shot dead by police; Linden London, “Blackie”, shot dead after siege by Joint Forces; Michael Craig, shot dead by New York police; Andrew Douglas - then at large; Trevor Brooks, Maurice Connelly, etc - etc - etc. (The list is long). The point is, as this ‘paper once editorialized, society should have made arrangements, perhaps with Ex-army associations, to facilitate those bad soldiers’ transition back to civilian life. Of course, some deviants can be incurable.

Those former bad eggs could not and, to my mind, did not tarnish the image of serving members of the GDF, although other behaviours related to some senior errant loyalists committed to alternative causes, might have. We need, as Joe Singh once advised, a small sharp, well-trained professional army. There should also be a large, trained, dedicated but monitored reserve. Our territorial integrity, the threats from narco-trafficking all demand increased responsibilities from a well-equipped well-rewarded Force.

The ideological orientation from the David Granger days, should be now one of national pride and patriotism, whereby the officers and ranks are immersed in their defensive protective roles in safe-guarding our economic interests and survival, and the justness of our cause, with respect to the two territorial issues we have with continental neighbours. They must also have an appreciation of our constitutional and political realities whilst not being made to toe any partisan political line.

The GDF and the “jumbies”

Like Jamaica’s Defence Force, our GDF has been caught up in the relatively civilian fight against the criminal upsurge. I won’t have time or space to dwell on that here. Except to be “intrigued” by two or three aspects of their involvement around and in Buxton.

I’ve heard ex-officer Ronald Gajraj, now Home Affairs Minister, relate early difficulties with the conduct of some ranks in the area. Apparently, since the Commander-in-Chief’s involvement in the removal of one Commanding Officer, operations in the post-Lesniak kidnap period have been effectively straightened out. And even as I read in the Chronicle, early this week, of the alleged involvement of former GDF officers in conspiracy and destabilization plots, I experience the current encounters with ghosts! What’s that? Well, Frankly Speaking has been advised that there are two ubiquitous but amorphous, ghost-like jumbie mercenary groups gunning down both rivals and other wanted bandits.

Allegedly the GDF patrols on the East Coast Demerara, have intercepted these phantoms on two occasions. Allegedly, too, an officer of the GDF apparently had some contact with these mercenary but sometimes helpful death-squad jumbies. What a country!

I conclude this far-from-exhaustive personal memo on the GDF by giving conditional commendations to the President - who once thought of joining that same army - for his current attention to his Officer Corps and Troops. One tip, Excellency: Let your Ethnic Relations Commission dare to address the concerns of those mindful of the “ethnic balance” in the GDF. I wish them luck.

After I vote...

Before and during lunch the other day, I resumed my contemplation of what happens to the trust I repose in my vote after I cast it on Elections Day.

I vote for the policies and programmes promised by a particular party. I vote because I trust the personalities, character and competence of that party’s personnel. Too often these days, after I vote my winning party is made to modify, compromise or abandon my understandings - the reasons I trusted them. All for peace allegedly. All for inclusiveness and shared governance. I’ll be sure to return to this issue soon.

Ponder...