Colonel Allan Douglas, Contributor
Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers during an operation with members of the Mobile Reserve of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) earlier this month in August Town, St. Andrew. - File
WHILE I was a student in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, my landlady would warn me about the different characters in the neighbourhood. She particularly disliked one lady who she regarded as, "a busy-body, nosey parker, prying, racist, gossiper." I would walk by this particular neighbour's house and would immediately feel her eyes piercing into me from behind a slightly drawn curtain. A look in her direction and the curtains would quickly fall back into the closed position.
My first encounter with this neighbour was not a particularly pleasant experience.
"Hello, they tell me you are Jamaican," she greeted me one day with an air of contempt in her voice.
"And who are 'they'?" I asked.
Her face became flushed and, wishing obviously to retain the upper hand, she looked me up and down and retorted, "I guess if you are Jamaican, then you must be a half-caste."
"And what is a half-caste?" I inquired, pretending not to be aware of the term.
"A child with one parent who is black and the other white," she defined.
"So what happens if both parents are half-caste?" I quickly asked her. "Is the child then a full-caste or a zero-caste?"
She turned and walked away with obvious disgust, and I heard myself utter under my breath, "What a bastard!"
England taught me to dislike the term 'half-caste' as much as I disliked the word 'bastard'. I knew as a child the awful stigma attached to children who were always dismissed as bastards - "Him a nutting, a Mr. Smith's bastard pickney!"
In recent weeks, this ugly term and word have begun to nag me, albeit in a somewhat different context. Having read Mr. William 'Bill' Clarke's recent suggestion as to the future of the JDF, as well as Mr. Bruce Golding's and the Honourable PM's, I am left feeling that the integrity of the JDF as a military body is on a very slippery slope akin to being regarded in military circles as a 'half-caste', or worst still be so bastardised that it be regarded as, "dem a nuttin, a military bastard pickney." What a fall that would be for Mr. Clarke's 'elite' JDF to bastard status! Undoubtedly, the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst would order an immediate recall of all its Jamaican officer graduates!
A knee-jerk reaction
Mr. Clarke's utterances are forgiven and can be dismissed as a knee-jerk reaction to a very serious crime problem confronting our country. He, however, should have known better and been more responsible. He has, by his own admission, agreed that he had not thought through the ramifications of his proposal to "abolish" the JDF and JCF and replace it with a 30,000-man multi-disciplinary force.
The new JLP leader, Mr. Bruce Golding, has, I suspect, given his proposal a great deal of thought for the JDF to assume the functions of the Mobile Reserve in dealing with the upsurge of violence where it occurs. The question that comes to mind is what is to become of the JCF's Mobile Reserve unit? If it is broken, can it be fixed? In addition, is Mr. Golding's proposal a spruced-up version of his party's much-touted 'Costa Rican model'?
Now I assume that Mr. Golding as a politician does not like using the word "disband." After all, that word probably frightens away votes that are so important to someone in his trade. I also believe that Mr. Golding is an honest man and he therefore ought to say it loud and clear that in his party's opinion the JDF is nothing more than an expensive drain on the country's budget, and that it no longer is relevant to Jamaica's security needs. He should then call for it to be disbanded.
The leader of the JLP, I understand, is a meticulous man and I therefore assume that he has done his homework on the subject of the JDF and security. I am sure he has determined the cost, time and numbers to be trained and those JDF members desirous of serving in his new paramilitary outfit.
I suspect, though, that his findings are that the majority of the officer corps and soldiers would rather serve in a military outfit than a paramilitary one and only a tiny minority would loyally continue to serve in anything but a truly military unit.
Those who believe that the same degree of professionalism and discipline would be retained in the change of the primary function of the JDF as a military body are in for a very rude and disappointing awakening. Unfortunately, though, it is Jamaica as a whole that will be at the biggest loss.
The PM and chairman of the Defence Board has correctly dismissed the notion of a merged JDF/JCF. It is reported that he is awaiting the results of a review of "the entire JDF." We can only hope that the review will not tinker with the JDF's roles and organisation to the extent that it becomes a paramilitary outfit.
If we must change the roles of the JDF to that of a paramilitary outfit, then it would be wiser to resuscitate the JCF's Mobile Reserve. Reorganise, train, and equip them to meet the particular demand. What will never happen is the preservation of the military ethos should the JDF become a paramilitary body. It has never ever been done anywhere else in the world. It aint goin wuk!
Rejuvenated Mobile Reserve
What are we to do then with the JDF if there is no need for it? And where are those functions identified for it in present-day Jamaica that can more effectively and appropriately be carried out by, say, a rejuvenated Mobile Reserve? There are two options. The first is to disband it and rely on foreign assistance in the event of a need.
The second option is to retain the JDF as a military force but charged specifically with providing for the military security needs of CARICOM. CARICOM would then be responsible for its funding and recruiting would be done throughout the Caribbean. The JDF would therefore be Jamaica's contribution to be the nucleus around which an expanded force would be formed to meet the security needs of the region.
Having completed the draft of this article late into the night, I then went to sleep and had this dream (or should I say nightmare?). It is 2008 and I witness a body of troops drawn up in their vehicles somewhere in downtown Kingston. The troops look tatty and disorganised. They are all wearing dark glasses and are overweight. They curse repeatedly, fire off their weapons, and look more like a mob.
I run to the officer in charge of the party. He had served with me as a junior officer. "What the hell is going on, Jamie?" I ask in disbelief.
"Colonel, things have changed. We are now only the JDF in name, but in truth, we are an odd mix of police, traffic warders, auxiliary firemen, park rangers and a lot dealing with terrorists. Mark you, we still don't know who or what is a terrorist." He smiles, showing off his shiny front row of gold teeth. He pulls himself out of his jeep kitted out with a mongoose tail flying from each of his several radio antennae.
Wearing medals
I am startled by his posture. "Jamie, what's with the paunch and why are you wearing medals on your combat uniform?"
He removes his dark glasses, looks proudly at his chest while caressing his stomach and says, "We no longer have to keep physically fit, there is no need and the medals we have to wear. The more 'bling-bling' we wear, the braver we feel. A part of the new culture all show and no substance!"
"Jamie, I don't believe that you could feel comfortable wearing a mobile reserve riot helmet, red-seam trousers and a military camouflage jacket."
"Well Colonel, you should see the park rangers and anti-terrorist outfit, they are dead smart."
I hold my head in disbelief and my dream takes me inside Gordon House where I witness a debate. The subject: "The urgent need to raise a military force for Jamaica." The PM opens the debate with a quote from the Rt. Excellent Norman Manley. "...I have watched the establishment of our army with pride and pleasure. In the old days when we were wrestling all over the West Indies with the problem of forming an independent nation made up of all the islands, it was a frequent topic of debate as to how far it was necessary to have an army if and when we became a nation. Many leaders from other islands used to assure me that we did not need one, that we could not afford it, that it would be just a show-piece and so on and so on?
"To that, I had one reply. I said we could not afford to do without it and I said show me a nation anywhere it the world that does not reserve the right to maintain its own unity and stability by the power of a good army, disciplined and loyal to the government of the day.
"When I saw that the West Indies was not likely to form a united nation, I was careful to take all the steps necessary to ensure that Jamaica, becoming a nation on her own, would have the army that everyone now agrees is an essential part of our national being."
There is thunderous applause from both sides of the House. I scream from the balcony an old army saying, "The soldier and God alike, remembered in times of trouble, not before, the trouble passed, God is forgotten, the soldier slighted!" I am removed from the balcony by two security guards wearing a badge with the inscription, 'Clarke's Elite'.
Allan Douglas is a retired colonel of the JDF. He may be contacted by e-mail at
alldouglas@aol.com
