A soldier talks with several young men as they gathered outside Up Park Camp on Camp Road in St. Andrew. The young men turned up at the recently-held army recruitment drive. Junior Barnes is at left in the picture.
-Norman Grindley photo
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
AS DAYBREAK gave way to the mid-morning sun last Wednesday, the hundreds of young men who had already completed the requisite procedures for entry into the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), gathered in small groups outside the green gates of Up Park Camp, St. Andrew, to discuss what could be their future as soldiers.
The men have been responding to the army's call to duty since Monday and for three days running, the front lawns of Up Park Camp bore their weight.
Junior Barnes, 19, was among the throng of young men who turned up, decked in their 'Sunday best'. Barnes, a former Cornwall College cadet who now resides in the Red Hills area, told The Sunday Gleaner that becoming a soldier has been a lifelong dream. Standing proudly among a group of prospective recruits outside the gates of the army headquarters, he firmly equated being a soldier with masculinity.
"Being a soldier is being a man," he said.
Another young man, Nardo Wallace, 20, who lives in Clairmont Heights, St. Catherine, said he wanted to join the army because he was at home 'bored', and a good fit of the Government's boots would definitely earn him the 'r-e-s-p-e-c-t' he craves.
"From we a watch movie and dem things and seh yeah, dem man deh look cool inna dem uniform and ting and they get the respect that they deserve so as a little youth looking at that me say that would be fitting for me," Nardo said.
SHIFTING FROM BUSINESS
Eighteen-year-old Vernon Thomas opted to vacate a possible career in the world of business to be all that he can be in the Jamaican army. Currently, Vernon is doing a diploma course at the Adminis-trative Professional Training Institute in Spanish Town, which is due to end in October. But, he said, if the dice roll in his favour and the army accepts him, he will have to say goodbye to his course at the institute.
Vernon, who hails from Wakesfield in Linstead, St. Catherine, said he decided to join the army because he wanted to make a positive statement for his gender. "Most of the men are dead or they are in jail and I want to make a difference," he declared with pride.
Some of the young men said that guns, the increased possibility of having 'more girls' and wearing the camouflage uniforms were perks of the job that boosted its attractiveness.
Still, not all the young men with whom The Sunday Gleaner spoke wanted to brave the streets. Some wanted to join the Coast Guard, whilst others wanted to work in the office. They said they were anticipating the rugged nature of the training. According to Nardo, "If we don't die the training will make us better some way."
