Joint training with police proved very beneficial to both organisations
Air corps plays a vital role - new army chief
Current Affairs July 2004
Stabroek News
July 21, 2004
Changing of the Guard: Brig. Gen Edward Collins (left) receiving the regimental standard from retiring Chief of Staff Maj Gen Michael Atherly.
Brigadier General Edward Collins who took over command of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at the end of May believes that the army he now leads is capable of maintaining Guyana's territorial integrity.
Speaking with Current Affairs Gen Collins asserts that in terms of equipment and personnel the army is adequately equipped to identify and define threats to the country and "is so organised, so structured, and equipped to hold until a diplomatic intervention is made."
He says too that the army has a programme of recapitalisation of personnel as they believe that while friendly nations may support them with equipment the most effective use would be made of it only if in the hands of trained people. Thus the objective of the programme, the Chief of Staff says, is to ensure that there are quality personnel at all levels of office and rank.
Gen Collins says too that the military training of the army officers is being supplemented by academic training as the army believes that the "modern (army) officer if not equipped academically would be unable to lead soldiers in the present day army."
"The exposure (to academia) widens their horizons and increases the dimensions in which they see things."
The CGX incident
The CGX incident which involved the ejection of an oil rig from its drilling location in Guyana's maritime space by Surinamese gun -boats, raised questions in the minds of many Guyanese about the army's ability to defend the country's borders. General Collins described the action of the Surinamese military as ill-advised. "I would say that the CGX incident was very unprofessional.
"It should not have happened as there was no indicator which suggested that there was a breakdown in relationship between Guyana and Suriname. It was a premature military move the outcome of which we are well aware. Had they thought it through they would not have (done it)."
Gen Collins says that on the Guyana side better judgment prevailed both at the level of the government and of the military and they did not respond in like manner. He notes that he was sure that in reviewing their actions the Suriname military would have come to the conclusion that it was an unfortunate move. As a consequence Gen Collins says that he does not foresee the Surinamese repeating their June 2000 adventure.
He opines that it is more in the interest of the people of both countries to have peace. That, he says, is the way the world is going with disagreements being settled in a civilized manner. Gen Collins believes that only in circumstances where one's people are threatened should a military action enter into the equation but not to the exclusion of first seeking a diplomatic resolution of the threat. He points out that defence and diplomacy are important tools for international relationships and the Guyana Defence Force subscribes to that view.
The Lower East
Coast Demerara Mission
Another area in which in recent times the army's capability has been called into question by some is its role in relation to internal security. Many believe that the army did not cover itself in glory when it operated on the lower East Coast Demerara during the height of the violent crime wave that was sparked by the February 23, 2002 prison escape of Dale Moore, Shawn Brown, Troy Dick, Andrew Douglas and Mark Fraser.
The new Chief of Staff disputes the presumption that the army did not achieve its objective of returning the situation to normalcy so that it could have handed over the duties to the Police as was part of its mission.
He also disputes the view that it was the "Phantom Gang" which brought closure to the situation on the Lower East Coast Demerara but credits it to the activities of a special squad of army and police personnel who had trained together for several months after being assigned to the area. He identified the turning point as the death of Dodson when the special squad began operating in the area.
Gen Collins says that all along the army believed that the Police should really have dealt with that situation. "We never ever accepted the situation where the Police were denied entry into that community (Buxton). We never accepted the situation where a community could be denied the service and protection that it deserves as Guyanese."
He explained that everything the army did was with the intention of bringing the situation in that community to a normal state of affairs so that the criminals could be driven from their hideouts.
"Everything we did, all our actions, all our operations were done with that focus. In our community relationship, we have left no scars in the community because if we had no police could have returned there and the bandits would have carved out a haven there."
Joint Training
Gen Collins says that joint training with the Police proved very, very beneficial to both organisations. He explained that the turning point he referred to earlier coincided with the posting of a joint force - military and police who were training together for three months - which jelled as a unit. That was why the operation was so successful.
He recalled that the improvement in the situation was so remarkable that the people from the community were asking if these were new soldiers.
Gen Collins says the Army, and Police always trained together in the Tradewinds exercises and both organisations have benefited tremendously. He also says that this process is ongoing as the Joint Service Coordinating Council coordinates these programmes of joint training involving all the disciplined forces.
PR Failure
Collins also concedes that it is a view that the army was not seen to have left covered in glory and its image took a beating. He attributes this to the inability to conduct a proper public relations programme with regards to educating the public about the role of the army in that situation. He said that the army recognised the failing and has gone back to the drawing board to remedy the defect ... "because the people were expecting from us something we could not give. We are not constituted to meet that expectation. We are not structured to deliver on those expectations in the way they wanted us to do by ourselves ...."
Gen Collins says now that some of those issues have been clarified he is happy with the functioning of the police and army. He says that the army has corrected its training in the areas where some deficiencies were identified so that there is no repeat of its image being tarnished and public confidence in its ability to discharge its role does not wane.
"We will continue to support the police in the same manner as we have always done because there has been no change in the legislation. We will support the police whenever they ask having made an assessment of the situation."
Border monitoring
About the army's ability to adequately monitor the country's extensive maritime and territorial borders, Gen Collins admits that there is some need for certain hardware for infrastructural development and that the army was still depending on wireless communications. However he says that at a certain level of technology the army is equipped and in terms of surveillance has the ability to identify a threat, determine the direction of that threat and to pass that information on to the relevant bodies.
Indiscipline
When asked about recent incidents of indiscipline the Chief of Staff acknowledged that there had been some bad incidents where soldiers actually dealt violence against each other. "It is a concern of ours.
"We need to re-channel those energies. Apart from that it breaks the whole bond of the buddy-buddy relationship that you would expect to be crucial for a force of our nature."
But the General observed "They are not many. They have occurred. But we do not see them as a pattern or trend of incidents which have occurred over a period of time. Whenever they have occurred we move swiftly. Those elements who are involved and found culpable are weeded out once they have demonstrated that indiscipline."
Delinking the
Coast Guard
When asked for his reaction to the suggestion that the Coast Guard should be delinked from the army and put under the control of a civilian organisation to make it easier for it to access much needed resources, Gen Collins said that it is a reasonable position to take given that the international financial institutions cannot provide assistance to military organisations. "In that regard it is reasonable to assume that the Coast Guard under a civilian authority would access more international help than it can now under the Guyana Defence Force."
However, he explained that he would not use that argument to make a case for removing the Coast Guard entirely from the control of the GDF as it would have other roles in this land of many waters and the army would obviously require a water-borne capability to identify and respond to various threats and a civilian structured organisation would not necessarily have that capability. "I do not believe that organisation in its transition to a civilian role would have that robust military response capacity." But he observed that if the Coast Guard were to be removed from the control of the GDF even though it has some civilian powers then the army would have to set up a replacement to deal with the threats.
Reacting to the comment in the report of the Disciplined Forces Commis-sion that the GDF did not seem to appreciate the evolving importance of the Coast Guard, the Chief of Staff observed that it seems to be a question of interpretation. He explained that when the GDF made its presentation it did not set out to make one on every individual unit; but having been made aware of what the Commission expected it has since made separate presentations.
Air Corps
With regard to the Air Corps, Gen Collins observed that it was never envisaged to be an aggressive unit but rather has always played a supportive role delivering troops to the border locations because of the infrastructure and terrain of the country.
"We depend very much on the Air Corps as an integral part of our strategic and tactical planning to deliver the resources and manpower to areas that are remote."
He explained that the Corps needs similar attention as the Coast Guard. He says that the Air Corps performs reconnaissance functions working in tandem with the Coast Guard. "Without the Air Corps the Coast Guard is nothing - it would be wasting a lot of manpower, money and time.
The Air Corps maximises the effort by identifying where the coast guard is needed. Gen Collins stressed that the Air Corps has a very important role to play because of the geography of the country.
Legacy
Gen Collins who has come to the leadership with some three decades of experience in the army - more than any of his local predecessors from Brigadier Clarence Price, Maj Gens Norman McLean, Joe Singh, and Michael Atherly. He has three years in which to mould the GDF into the unit he envisages it should be.
"It is not very long before I retire and I have not seen any dramatic changes in the way the world is going." So the GDF he would like to hand over to his successor would be a "truly dynamic organisation capable of acting in a changing environment; able to respond to the challenges of the environment and an organisation that continues to survive in an unstable environment."
Gen Collins also says that the army should be led by trained and educated officers who can read and interpret events free of the influence of other bodies, including the media, and charter a course for this large body of Guyanese so that they can make a contribution to the development of the country.
And though he has not given thought to how he would like his soldiers to feel when he leaves them, Gen Collins observed that he dislikes seeing a person leaving an organisation at the same level at which he joined it.
So he would like to see those who serve under him improve their lot during his time and do better after he leaves. He wants them to achieve something that can help them when they leave the army.
Motivation
About his own motivation, Gen Collins says unabashedly that it was the pay which attracted him. As he tells it $380 a month was an offer he could not pass up when he was only earning $50 a month as a trainee teacher in Training College.
He also says that the army was not his first love as he wanted to become a doctor.
But he notes that his original motivation and other ambitions quickly changed once he was deployed, shortly after completing his officer training course, to the People's Liberation Army in the People's Republic of China.
He recalled that the PLA was strapped for resources and most of what they were doing, using available resources provided by nature, developed in them a will and a fighting spirit.
"If I can locate a point in time that caused me to change from the "money reason" for joining the army to taking a very professional one it would be that exposure. I came back with a real love for the army."
Responding to the questions as to the officers whom he served under and have influenced his outlook, Gen Collins quickly reeled off the names of retired officers like David Granger, Joe Singh, Godwin McPherson, Victor Wilson, Fairbairn Liverpool, Norman McLean, Hartley Liverpool, Ulric Pilgrim, Carl Morgan, and retired Warrant Officers Ulric Sutton, Johnny Glasgow and Carlos Beaton. "They have all contributed to my outlook and the way I see things."