No man left behind, that’s the feeling among Cayman’s first batch of regiment officers as the five-member unit entered its final leg of training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst this week.
The soon-to-be officers, speaking with the Cayman Compass via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, described their training as “gruelling”, but said as it got tougher, they stuck together even more strongly to do their country proud.
“We had a great team coming to the UK at Sandhurst, because there were some down times for me personally, where I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. But with the team pushing each other, working together, I think it was a really good camp and moving forward in our last week, I think we will make it through,” said junior officer Jonassi Swaby, as he shared his experiences.
Swaby, together with junior officers Theo Kelly, Gabe Rabess, Shanice Kelly and Halston Farley, are undergoing a nine-week course at the UK academy.
They were appointed in February as junior officers. A total of 50 recruits are currently being assessed to join the regiment as reservists.
The officers’ training in the UK, which included combat training, map-reading and marksmanship, was slightly delayed due to Cayman and the UK government’s COVID-19 protocols.
However, they were eventually granted admission and left aboard one of the UK airbridge flights.
Shanice Kelly said when she left Cayman for the training, she did not have any expectations.
“Based on what we had been told from some junior officers in Bermuda (where the five initially trained), they were able to share their experiences with us back in March. But for me, personally, I wanted to go in with a clear mind and experience everything one day at a time,” she said.
For Rabess, having no military experience posed a challenge.
“Some of the things were quite demanding mentally and today (Thursday) was the first time I was talking to one of my colleagues and I was saying it was quite physically demanding for me today towards the end. We really had to dig deep for it,” he said.
On Thursday, the five officers, together with their 96-member training platoon, conducted military casualty evacuation exercises, which including submerging through Sandhurst’s Wish Stream. The stream is a passing-out ritual, where the teams enter as trainees, make a wish, and exit as officers.
“We had to take two casualties in each section. Our platoon [went] through about a two-kilometre run and then through 300 metres of stream; it was very cold. They call it Wish Stream’ – that’s the graduating stream here at Sandhurst. So, you have fully submerged yourself in about, I would say, 20 degrees-or-less water… for us from the Caribbean, you know, it’s very cold,” Swaby said, as he and his fellow officers laughed.
Shanice Kelly summed up the team’s feelings after the run through, saying, “fatigued… I feel fatigued at this point in time.”
Theo Kelly, Shanice’s brother, said the UK weather made it a tough for the team.
However, he said, “I know that they’re capable of doing all the activities and it’s just adjusting to these templates, so to speak.”
Farley said the COVID-19 protocols changed many aspects of their training experience, by decreasing the number of physical exercises and modules they were required to complete.
However, he said, Cayman’s officers do not see that as a disadvantage.
“COVID has had its limitations on the team, but again, we have used those tough moments as advantages. We are a better, close-knit team. You saw a lot of that, working together, especially when the instructors were giving their feedback on the exercises and things that we did,” he pointed out.
Farley said even their graduation next week, which will be live-streamed by government, will be different for the platoon.
“Usually, we would graduate in our ceremonial uniforms, but again, due to COVID and the stipulations here at UK government, we graduate in these [camouflage kits]. Some persons were disappointed with that, but we take it as an opportunity to say… this is what is going to be unique about us being here, training and commissioning through COVID,” he said.
The entire team said they are looked forward to returning home as the pioneers of the Cayman regiment.
“A thousand years from now, 50 years from now, 10 years from now, we will be remembered as the first to go down [in] the Cayman regimental history… [it’s something we are] very, very, very proud of and very, very ambitious [about] and we are very honoured to be a part of,” Farley said.
“I am really excited to be a part of the beginning of the regiment,” Swaby added.
For Rabess, being part of the team paving the way for the country’s regiment is a dream come true.
“When an opportunity came up for the Cayman regiment, I obviously took it with open arms and I am very proud and honoured to be part of it, even at the ripe old age I am now. I look forward to carrying it forward, should the opportunity arise,” he said.
The creation of the regiment was announced last year during a visit by UK Minister Mark Lancaster.
Both Governor Martyn Roper and Premier Alden McLaughlin expressed pride at the progress of the five officers.
In an emailed statement, the premier told the Compass, “Sandhurst is renowned as a centre of excellence in leadership and I am sure that Theo, Shanice, Jonassi, Halston and Gabe will return to our islands very prepared to help build what I expect to be an important Caymanian institution.”
It is their leadership of the first cadre of regiment reserves, he said, “combined with much hard work by all involved, that will be the foundation of the regiment – something that they can be proud of all their lives.”
He said not only will the Cayman Islands Regiment help develop future Caymanian leaders, “but a trained and disciplined Caymanian regiment will be invaluable to our islands to assist in times of disasters”.
Governor Roper celebrated the officers as the pioneers of the Cayman Regiment.
“Our Officer Cadets have been given a great opportunity to study and train at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and it sounds like they are finding it both challenging [and] rewarding,” he said. “When they return, they will bring leadership qualities which will be invaluable to support and motivate their teams in the Cayman Islands Regiment.”
He said the UK Ministry of Defence has also provided all the kits that the first set of reservists will need, including uniforms, boots, berets, backpacks, webbing and helmets – all of which will be arriving on a special RAF flight in the coming week.
“It’s worth noting that the work to establish the regiment has continued, despite the COVID crisis, so that we can have an able body of men and women ready to support, should we need them during the peak of the hurricane season,” he added.
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