Potential new recruits for the Cayman Islands Regiment underwent a battery of fitness tests and interviews as the military force selected its next intake of rookie soldiers.
About 50 people attended the selection process, with the regiment expecting to choose around 35 to take part in the next basic training camp later in the summer.
D’hani Bodden, a personal trainer, said he had applied because he wanted to help people, inspired by the example of his seafaring grandfather Leonard.
The 21-year-old who works at George Town’s Performance Lab and at the Truman Bodden boxing gym, added, “I was always thinking I wanted to be like that and give back to the community.”
He added that he knew serving troopers and officers and had the “utmost respect” for them.
Bodden said the growing elderly population, many with mobility problems, would be particularly vulnerable in a natural disaster.
He added, “A lot of these people are in situations where they’re isolated.”
Andrew Antonysraj, 27, who works for his family business Cayman Building Supplies and is a keen sportsman, said, “I want to try new things. That’s part of it.
“I also wanted the discipline part of the regiment and to grow as a human being. I also want to give back to the community as well and disaster relief is definitely a way I can do that.”
They were speaking after they passed the fitness ‘beep test’ – a series of runs between cones, which have to be completed in progressively shorter intervals, signalled by beeps during the assessment process held at the John Gray High School on Saturday, 2 May.
Matthew Brown, 29, who owns a farm, but also works as a delivery driver and a fisherman, said he was determined to make time to serve in uniform.
He added that his experience of getting through hurricanes, including Hurricane Ivan as a child, meant he didn’t fear them and that he had in the past gone from house to house near his own home to check up on other people and help if needed after major storms.
Brown said, “The job the regiment does – hurricane relief – I already do in a way. I want to join it to go pro.”
Mina Whorms swapped the glamour and bright lights of the Compass TV studios, where she is a news anchor and host on the morning show Daybreak, for gym kit, blazing sunshine and the John Gray High School playing fields, where she impressed instructors with her tenacious approach to the beep test.
The 27-year-old said, “I wanted a challenge and they were looking for recruits, specifically for female recruits, for the regiment.
“At first, I thought it was going to be really demanding on my time, but it’s not. In reality, you can continue your full-time work easily and still be a reservist.
“It’s serving my country, helps me to meet more people and I can learn skills I wouldn’t have otherwise. I thought ‘why not’?”
She admitted the beep test was “hard – it was something I hadn’t done since high school” but was pleased she was able to push through it.
Recruitment numbers up
Lieutenant Colonel Graham Muir, the regiment’s commanding officer, said potential recruit numbers were up on previous years.
He added, “The interest people have in serving is good … not everyone who has turned out this year will get through, but we’re in a position where we can invite them back next year.”
Muir highlighted that the regiment was an efficient way to boost the country’s resilience in a crisis and provide improved capabilities for humanitarian aid.
“It’s very cost-effective because reservists are not permanently on the government payroll. They’re a good way to boost national resilience when needed.”
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