`I wanted to do medicine... but that desire became obliterated when I developed my love for the Army...after my first overseas exposure... the People's Republic of China which presented an organisation which closely mirrors the Guyana Defence Force ...not in size, nor in component...but in the intangible; that is; the will...the eagerness.... and the discipline of the soldier.' - Brigadier General Edward Collins

By Linda Rutherford HE HAS absolutely no ambitions whatsoever about making any sweeping changes during his tenure.

As a matter of fact, change is the furthest thing from his mind, says newly-appointed Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Edward Collins, who officially took over the helm of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on June 2, following the early retirement of his predecessor, Major General Michael Atherly.

In a brief interview with the Sunday Chronicle Thursday, Collins said when the question was raised about possible change in the way the 30-something-year-old institution, possibly one of the oldest and most respected in the Anglophone Caribbean, is being run in light of new security threats, both domestically and internationally:

"No! I am not looking forward to any marked changes, to see change, so to speak, in the organisation. I would like to consolidate our traditions; make it a very disciplined organisation; where the Officers, both female and male, and other ranks... can come together in unison and perform their tasks with a high level of morale."

Concerned also about the future of his staff, Collins, who holds a BSc in Public Management and an MSc in General Administration said:

"I'd like to see members of the organisation showing personal development; spend a period of time where there must be some development... instead of coming here and then leaving as you came. I would not like to see such a situation."

A subject he obviously feels very strongly about, he further said: "I would like to see the organisation ... as a social organisation ... one concerned with the development of our people....all of which are easily achievable...at little cost. The only cost is the will and maintaining the focus. Other things like equipment will come and go ... but then, over a period of time they become obsolete..."

Clad in jungle fatigues and looking remarkably fresh and alert in spite of being rushed off his feet all day, keeping one appointment after the other, the father of three said:

"What I am looking for is things that would hardly become obsolete....the intangible...thinking differently...thinking with magnanimity...big...beyond this little ambit....out of the box...

"Equipment, when they come, if you have that level of educated or trained Officers or men, you will find making use of equipment is easy. That is how I would like to see our Army in the future...and that is what I'd like to bring ....focus on the development of the human capita...."

Firm believer in regional integration A firm believer as well in regional integration, particularly after his stint in Haiti in 1995, initially as Commander of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community)'s contingent of the US-led multinational mission in Haiti and much later as a member of the United Nations Mission in Haiti, he also cherishes the hope that one day, very soon, the armies of the 15-member CARICOM bloc will become unified into one regional body.

"That exposure to a multi-national force... in itself, sowed a seed of hope for me; hope for a CARICOM Defence Force; that we can pool our limited resources together and maximise the benefits of those resources. I do believe that one day we'll get there; we'll have a CARICOM Defence Force; because that's the only way we can go," Collins said, adding:

"As it is now, no one country, outside of Trinidad, perhaps, can go into Haiti to make a contribution to the UN missions in Haiti right now. We can only go as CARICOM; as one body; pool our resources. So we need to probably work towards making that a reality."

Asked what steps, if any, were being taken in that direction, Collins replied that something was currently being done at the level of the Barbados-based RSS (Regional Security System) which he said came into force "after the Grenada situation," meaning the bloodless coup (d'etat) of March 13, 1979 which was led by the late Maurice Bishop, who later became Prime Minister.

Reports are, however, that plans for a permanent Regional Defence Force were shelved in the 80s, mainly because it was felt that such an organisation would be too costly to maintain. There was also the unspoken fear that such a move would be seen as an attempt to militarise the Eastern Caribbean, which comprises Antigua/Barbuda; Barbados; Dominica; Grenada; St Kitts/Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines, and what's left of British, French and Dutch colonial rule.

Born at Number 40 Village on the West Coast Berbice, but raised for the better part of his formative years at 'Veggeh', as the West Demerara village of Vergenoegen is known far and wide, Collins, who turns 52 in September, had always nurtured the hope, as a young lad, of one day entering the field of medicine.

All thoughts of becoming a doctor, however, flew out the window the day he set foot in China. That was in 1975, a little over a year after he joined the Army as a Cadet Officer, when he was sent there to pursue a Company Commander's Course at the People's Liberation Army.

Said he: "I wanted to do medicine... but that desire became obliterated when I developed my love for the Army...after my first overseas exposure... the People's Republic of China which presented an organisation [The People's Liberation Army] which closely mirrors the Guyana Defence Force ...not in size, nor in component...but in the intangible; that is; the will...the eagerness.... and the discipline of the soldier." Warming to the topic, pride evident in the imperceptible swell of his chest and the unmistaken fire in his eyes, he said: "When I realised that this country, so far separated from us geographically, but so near to us in terms of their goals and objectives, and the manner in which they set about doing it...was a country to learn much from. I made the decision then; that I can contribute to society; to the Guyana Defence Force. So, I came back home; better prepared; more consolidated in my decision to remain here. So the desire; the dream of doing medicine just went out the window."

Impressed with the Chinese He later gave as the reason he was so besotted with China his vulnerability at the time, being young and all, coupled with an ambivalence about the direction his career was going to take.

"I was impressed with the Chinese because of the time I was there; that particular juncture. (You) found yourself somewhere... you're not sure what your career would be whether you really want to remain in the army and so on...a very impressionable age. Then I was exposed to this level of professionalism; a Third World country...poor; developing; strapped for equipment just like we were...and so I was impressed."

China also taught him a thing or two, he said, about the vagaries of Chinese cooking, particularly in the preparation of Peking duck, which, according to him, "is actually cooked from the rear," as well as to develop a taste for its immense culture, which varies from province to province and dates back centuries.

Interesting too, he said, was the turn of events that was taking place in Chinese politics at that particular juncture in the country's history.

"At that time we were in China, the Chinese government was undergoing some changes, occasioned by the death of Premier Chou En-Lai. So, we were exposed to all the various analyses that were done by the different sinologists, as to who would succeed and why, because the media became adulterated with all these various views. In the end, the prevailing view did not work out and that in itself is a clear example of how a nation like China is not one that can be easily predicted."

Memorable also, was his time spent at Leavenworth, the US Army Command and General Staff College in Kansas where he also underwent military training in 1996/97, in that it not only afforded him the opportunity of furthering his studies academically at nearby Central Michigan University, but to forge close friendships as well with people who, by virtue of the territorial differences between their country and his, were his sworn enemies.

He explains: "That was a very good exposure, because it's a case where you have most, if not all the countries in the world... attending that course. So you have an opportunity to meet, bond and establish relationships with people from all over this world, from places like Brazil just next door. It also provided opportunity for...people the world over who were enemies...who have geographical border problems ...to meet and talk to each other; people like Guatemalans and Belizeans; Israelis and Arabs. I was living next door to a Venezuelan; I shared a kitchen with him; so we became very close."

He made the point, too, that he was the first local to have gone to Leavenworth, since the course was never opened to Guyanese before.

The Haiti experience Haiti, on the other hand, he said, was a different kind of experience, in the sense that not only was it the first time in history that "any member of the CARICOM defence forces would have been deployed as a unit under the UN," but he is yet to get over the 'culture shock' at seeing how people there actually lived.

"I never realised that people looking like me could be so different...in their thinking...in the way they see the world. The Haitian man though poor some of them...has a kind of pride that is hard to describe...a pride that stems from the fact that he has been freed so long, it is sometimes near impossible to trace any of his generation that were enslaved.

"Again, it's the only place I've been to, and the only people I know, that attach so much importance to the dead. Their tombs are better than their homes. A Haitian is living in a shack but his tomb is well painted.... like a building... you could walk into it. And that's the tomb for his ancestors." And this is largely because of their belief that it is the dead that has the power, and not we who are living.

Outside of these little foibles, he said, Haitians are generally hard-working people. They are also very skillful; very innovative; and very demonstrative, as their reverence for Aristide indicated at the time.

Their love for Aristide was so profound, he said, they took to calling him 'Tetide', pronounced 'Tetite'. He recalled an instance where an old woman, who looked to be in her late 80s to early 90s, was so overcome with joy at seeing a helicopter for the first time, she exclaimed:

"Tetide! Tetide!

It was all he could recognise, he said, not being familiar with the lingua franca of the country. Through an interpreter, however, he later learnt that she was saying:

"God bless 'Tetide'! 'Tetide' send the helicopter!"

She was not the only one who was so pleasantly surprised. In the remote village in which she lived in southern Haiti, seeing a helicopter was not a common occurrence. The only difference was, it was not 'Tetide' to whom they owed the honour, but the UN.

Strictly economics Curious as to why he joined the Army in the first place, we put the question to him. And his response was:

"I joined the Army because there was more money to be had. At the time I made the decision to become a Cadet, I was teaching. I was at the Teacher's Training College. That was 1973. I was receiving $50.... whereas the Army was paying $380. So it was strictly economics."

Asked whether it had ever occurred to him that he would reach this far, he said:

"For me, Edward Collins, I always aim for the top; in everything I do; everywhere I go, my aim is always to get to the top.

"So, Yes! I did expect that I would be commissioned Chief of Staff; I never thought that I would not be the Chief of Staff. And if there were something higher in the Army, I would have aimed for that."

Fond of reading, he also likes to spend whatever little spare time he has either 'surfing the net', watching a good movie or just 'hanging' with his wife and three daughters. "I find it very therapeutic," he said.

Like his passion for development and proper management of human resources, he is also said to very fastidious about fitness and health, and has been known on occasion to admonish any of his staff whom he thinks is becoming out of shape. He also likes an occasional jog, and is very much into weightlifting.