Major Jones Says B.D.F. Soldiers Are Treated Like an Afterthought

News Five also asked former B.D.F. officer Major Lloyd Jones about how rations move through the system before they reach soldiers’ plates. Jones says the problem goes beyond short supplies. He believes there may be leakages higher up the supply chain, while the men and women in uniform continue to make do with less. For him, it is another sign that the force remains undervalued.

 

Major Lloyd Jones (Ret’d.), Former BDF Officer

“I think what happens is that it starts at the top as we are seeing now, which is the troubling part for me. But all along the supply chain, starting with the ministry and for every door it enters the ration gets smaller and smaller. This is why I am saying if you look at what is being spent on the rations and what is on the soldier’s plate, somehow there is a huge gap and how these things work, is that if people see the top, and I am not saying this is what is happening, but if people see people at the top “feeding”, then when it reach their level they also feel like I should get a little too and it just keeps going and going and going. And then it finally reaches the plate of the soldiers and he is wondering, what happened here. I don’t think we have ever really appreciated the BDF the way we should, and a lot of food people have joined the BDF and many of them have left in frustration, people who would have otherwise had long careers in the BDF have left in frustration. There is no real appreciation for what this kind of institution should do for Belize.”

 

Have Marin and Mira Lost the Trust to Lead?

 

Major Lloyd Jones says the scandal has done more than damage the government’s image, it has weakened the confidence of the very people Florencio Marin Jr. and Oscar Mira are supposed to lead. On Tuesday night, Jones argued that both ministers are no longer fit to remain at the helm. Since Marin was CEO Francis Usher’s immediate political boss, we asked Usher whether he shares that view. Here’s how he responded.

 

Francis Usher, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Defense

“I know Major Jones well, good man. It is a man I admire as an officer that came before, especially as I transitioned to the airwing. The airwing and the special boat unit, the child of the unit that Major Jones use to be, the maritime wing. So I got a lot of guidance from Major Jones earlier on in my career as I transitioned there, particularly as I transitioned into the leadership of that unit. I think that Major Jones is a very experienced individual. I think he is more than capable of drawing his own conclusions. I would not go as far as saying that, but I do understand his position, and he is free to make his opinion.”

 

Florencio Marin Junior and Oscar Mira remain on administrative leave from their respective ministries.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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