By Major General (retd) Joseph G Singh
(Former Chief of Staff
1990-2000)
Today the Guyana Defence Force observes its 50th Anniversary. It will be a time for giving thanks, for reminiscing among old soldiers about their experiences in the bases, barracks, bashas, bunkers and bars. It will be a time of celebration and exhortation by the leadership of the Force and the Commander in Chief, himself an old soldier. It will also be a suitable occasion to remember those comrades-in-arms who, if they have not already transitioned, are generally out of the limelight—either overseas or at home, unmindful of the glitz and military pomp and ceremony, when all focus of attention understandably, will be on the podium, the speeches, the saluting dais and the displays.
The comrades-in-arms to whom I refer are the other ranks: the warrant officers, the senior and junior non-commissioned officers and the private soldiers,