At the top of the news, we showed you how a high ranking British General visited Belize to announce that BATSUB was returning. Yesterday, we also took
you to the BATSUB training camp on the Coastal Road near Gales Point, Manatee.
Well, while the British Soldiers were training themselves, they've also been training select officers of the Belize Defence Force. We got a chance to
see what that looked like yesterday, and Daniel Ortiz has that story.
For about an hour and a half, in the warm morning sun, this group of BDF soldiers marched around in on the Parade Square, taking commands from their
British Trainer, demonstrating that they had a very good grasp of form, technique, and cohesion.
They had been practicing for the past few days, and yesterday was their final test, to show that not only were they well-coordinated, but that they could
easily take on the leadership of officers placed under their command.
At first glance, the careful steps, marches and tight symmetrical turns appeared as though it was all for show, but in the grand scheme of a soldier's
life, it has a proper place.
Lt. Col. James Thurstan - Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
"What drill teaches you is it teaches you teamwork, it teaches you attention to detail, it teaches you the ability to work as a team; which we clearly
saw them doing today. And it's a very good foundation, a very good basis to them take forward and of course drill has its history on the battlefield.
In battles of sort of 2, 3 hundred years ago, all those movements that you see there are actually movements of how infantry men fought 2, 3 hundred
years ago; when the tactics have their history in those drill movements because it was how you moved squares of men around the battlefield in a
coordinated manner. You get those basics right of teamwork, understanding, cohesion, attention to detail; all those things are discussed. Then you're
in a good start point to be ready to deal with more complicated modern day tactical training activity that Mark and his team and I working through with
the BDF."
BDF soldiers, who had already showed this ability to work as tight unit, were selected to participate in in 2 very distinctive training courses that BATSUB
was invited to offer. The first is called the Fire Team Commander's Course.
Cpt. Mark Bagguley - OC, Trainer
"It's progressive training. We will start with crew leadership management in week one; where the soldiers, we have fused both militaries together. So
we are not teaching, we are sucking up as much of the syllabus and values and standards etc. that the Belizean defence force teaches their own forces
and our forces are reinforcing that on their behalf. We've designed the courses in such a manner with what we determine as a T3 trainer package to
allow our Belizean counterparts when we leave here, that we have not just train on cohort of their personnel. We are leaving DNA for one of a better
word to spread through their ranks rather than just having an isolated cohort."
The other training course that the British Soldiers are assisting the BDF with is called Skill-At-Arms. The hope is that after 4 weeks of intensive weapons
and physical training, the 25 soldiers participating will be experts at close quarter's combat and reactionary marksmanship.
Cpt. Mark Bagguley - OC, Trainer
"The Belizean defence force is very competent and with the students we've got, we just reinforce that. We come with an open mind."
"Without a doubt we will be far better than they are currently. As I said at the start the training has been tailored to the requirements of what the
Belizean defence force have requested their soldiers to be trained in."
Of important note is that BATSUB played an important role in the relief efforts that the Government made to victims of the flood in Belize City last
week. They were an essential part of the food and ration distribution to those flood victims who had to seek shelter at YWCA and ITVET.
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