The BDF's New Commander, Cornel David Jones will assume command in a formal ceremony next week. For the military - which always likes to put on a regimented show - it's a big deal because they don't get a new commander every day - and this is the first change of command in almost five years.
And they're making a PR campaign out of it. Yesterday Lieutenant Fermin told us that it will be a good ceremony:..
Lt. G. Fermin
"It is very important as we will be seeing the now Brigadier General Tapia, he will be leaving his post of office as the commander and we will have Lt. Colonel David Jones David Jones who will be taking up the new post as commander for the Belize Defence Force. We have military attaches, we have different commanders from the Caribbean, and we have commanders from the US that we invite every time we have this change of command. It's a very big event. We will have the chain of command parades whereby we will be displaying the drills that the force usually carries out, so it's going to be very unique, it's going to be one that everybody should see."
And if ceremony's not your thing, then you can join the BDF the following day for its annual fair. This year, they are celebrating the Force's 35th anniversary under the theme: Discipline, Service, Pride and Dignity.
Lieutenant Swift told us why you should come out:..
Lt. Justine Swift
"It's an open day; it's a huge event where we invite the general public to come in. We normally have these commercial booths out there selling all different types of products; we have BTL and SMART giving promotions on phones. We also have commercial organizations that come in, food vendors; people from all over the country come and sell different types of food. The food booths are $55 and the commercial booths are $75. There are a lot of games and a lot of prizes you can win and it also marks our 35th Anniversary, it's a way we celebrate with the public."
The event will be followed by a dance in the night.
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