Basil Jarrett | We need more soldiers in the classroom and in the streets (But not for the reasons you think)

BE HONEST. When you read that headline, you instinctively flinched, thinking, “Oh no, not another army man advocating for more curfews, more checkpoints, and more spot checks to block up the traffic”.

And that’s understandable. After all, over the past few years, Jamaican’s have become so accustomed to seeing soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with their police counterparts, that it’s almost become a permanent part of our national security picture.

But no. This is not a call for militarisation of our classrooms or our communities. Nor is at a thinly veiled attempt to put more boots or more camouflage on every street corner. Rather, it is a call for steady, reliable, assured leadership in the places we need them most: schools, communities, the workplace and the quiet, crumbling corners of Jamaican society that are increasingly being left to fend for themselves.

Exactly the sort of steady, reliable leadership that the Jamaica National Reserve (JNR) aims to build and foster through its Caribbean Reserve Training Camp (CRTC) which launched last Monday in Up Park Camp.

TRAIN TO SERVE

If you missed it, you’re not alone. After all, the annual camp is not one of the JDF’s most publicised events with the Force choosing to quietly welcome hundreds of citizen-soldiers from across the region to train, serve, and build resilience – jointly. No fanfare. No press circus. Just a group of men and women, some in their 20s, some in their 50s, reporting for two weeks of bruising physical work, discipline, and upskilling.

Watching them over the past three days, I am convinced that what we’re missing in so many of our institutions, are role models. Or rather, more of them. More quiet strength, more people who can walk into a space, command respect, and defuse tension, not with bravado, but with presence. People trained not just in tactics, but in teamwork. Who know to show up on time, how to take instructions, and how to ensure that honour, discipline, and service are more than just slogans that go with the uniform.

Ask any principal or teacher struggling with student discipline in his or her school. Ask the mother of a teen whose only male role models are TikTok influencers, scammers and area dons. Ask the frustrated police officer who’s tired of playing the bad guy in communities where trust in law enforcement is lower than sea level. What’s missing isn’t always more resources. Sometimes it’s simply more of the right kind of people, showing up in the right places and at the right time. They’re school principals, CEOs, social workers, small business owners, you know, the type of people you see and interact with every day.

The CRTC isn’t a glorified summer camp with drill sergeants yelling at teenagers. It is a carefully choreographed exercise in resilience-building, complete with firepower demonstrations, humanitarian response simulations, close-quarter combat drills, leadership training, first aid, and community outreach. It’s also exactly why every Caribbean leader should be paying attention to this question of regional interoperability, a question that is being asked of us more and more each year.

CITIZEN SOLDIERS

The idea of a national reserve service is not a novel one. Countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and Israel have long recognised the value of reserve service in shaping productive, community-oriented citizens. We may not need to copy these countries wholesale but certainly we can learn from the principle that giving young people structured, values-driven, purpose-filled training early in life sets them up greatly for success later in life.

Which brings us back to the CRTC and the idea of the citizen-soldier: the accountant who drills on weekends, the schoolteacher who knows how to move a platoon up a hill, the young woman who learns CPR in the bush and then uses it to save a life in Half-Way Tree. These are ordinary Jamaicans who have made service a part of their identity and further proof of why we need more soldiers in the classroom and in the streets. Not to control or command, but to mentor, model, and motivate, while reminding us what discipline looks and feels like.

ANSWERING THE CALL

The CRTC is not just about soldiers demonstrating discipline while doing push-ups and rappelling down cliff sides. It’s also about the Caribbean region finally taking seriously the notion that disasters and crisis happen without warning, and when they do, the first to respond isn’t always the regular army. Often, it’s the reservists. People who live among us and work among us, but when the need arises, don a uniform and a rifle to protect us.

The commitment from our reservists is there. As is the will. What the public and private sector should now be doing is to encourage more Jamaicans to join the National Reserve by offering clear incentives and removing barriers to service. This could include tax benefits or tuition grants for persons who serve, greater job protection for working professionals who take time off for training, and public recognition programmes that highlight the civic contribution of reservists.

Additionally, strategic partnerships with universities and employers could make Reserve service more accessible and appealing, especially for young people looking to build leadership and life skills.

By positioning Reserve duty not just as military service, but as nation-building and community development, we can shift the narrative, and the numbers, in its favour.

But of course, there will be the unconvinced who will scoff and say “Military training won’t fix Jamaica”. And they would be right. Military training alone probably won’t. But a trained, disciplined, responsive, and values-driven corps of citizens willing to serve and protect in times of crisis? Now that just might do the trick.

Major Basil Jarrett is the director of communications at the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and crisis communications consultant. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Threads @IamBasilJarrett and linkedin.com/in/basiljarrett. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com