Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

Left: Some of the British cadets at work at the boys' home in downtown Kingston.Right: Young cadets at work in Duckenfield, St. Mary. - contributed photos

A group of 12 young men and women aged 19-21, recently spent time in the island as part of the personal development component of their stint in the British Army/Navy.

The cadets spent time working at a Kingston based children's home, Duckenfield Basic School in St. Mary and also cleared the naval cemetery in Port Royal, Kingston.

In an interview with Lifestyle, David Palmer, a member of the group, said the squadron in England is 140 strong and they enter the programme fresh out of sixth form. They will spend three years pursuing degrees in either aerospace, mechanical or electrical engineering, as well as mathematics, geology or physics.

The programme will prepare them for life in the army where they are expected to serve a minimum of three years.

But at such a critical time in the world, do these young men have any fears about prospects of serving in, say, Iraq?

Not comfortable

David said they interact with soldiers who are now in the service and hear a lot about war. "I am not comfortable with the prospect but I am prepared to serve if I must. Pride in your unit and the army makes you brave, so I don't pay attention to the negatives or worry about safety."

He noted that many television reports focus on negatives or isolated incidents and a large majority of the serving men and women do make it back safely.

But there are positives from the career in the army such as the degree they will obtain at the end of training and the travel opportunities. The group left Jamaica last week and upon return, some will go on other assignments to Italy and Germany.

Personal Development

The group said they have gained from the work they did while in Jamaica. "We saw many things we would not normally see, such as the boys with mental illnesses at the home, it was pretty shocking and put new value on life for us and places our own problems in perspective."

At the boys' home, the group built a classroom under the supervision of the Catholic brothers. There were some communication issues when it came to methods of doing things, but things went well. At the cemetery in Port Royal where soldiers and sailors are interred, toiling under the glaring sun was hard; they cut bushes and gave the place a general tidying up.

Left: The cemetery at Port Royal before it was cleared.Right: The cemetery after it was cleared.