20 acres for TT Cadet Force

The Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force. Photo courtesy newsday.co.tt

July 17, 2012:

The Trinidad and Tobago Cadet will receive 20 acres of land for its permanent headquarters.

Minister of National Security, Jack Warner made the announcement at the opening ceremony of the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force's Annual Training Camp at Camp Costelloe on the Carapichaima East Secondary school's grounds.

Warner said Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Colin Partap had been asked to meet with Commandant Colonel Patrick Taylor, commanding officer of the Cadet Force to locate 20 acres in Central Trinidad for headquarters to be built for the local cadets.

He added that in the interim he would speak with Education Minister Dr Tim Goopeesingh about having one school used as a headquarters for the cadets until its headquarters are completed.

“This is the first parade I have been to in this capacity and in fact in any capacity. I want to tell you I am particularly pleased to be here this morning particularly at a time when this nation is swimming in a sea of crime. One gets the impression that to make the front pages of our newspapers you have to either be dead or arrested."

Warner said in his younger years he wanted to join the cadets, but there was no cadet force at Longdenville Government, or at Presentation College in Chaguanas at that time.

However, he did become a Special Reserve Police officer where he served "for four years until I was fired for trying to form an organisation to improve the lot of Special Reserve Police officers; whose lot has not changed materially much since the 1970s, a fact which I have to address speedily".

The Minister said he will meet with Goopeesingh for discussions on having the cadet force in every school. 

Warner complimented the cadets on their being "smartly dressed and saluting to the hilt and I long for the days when we can have that in the police service".

Warner also noted there was a high level of vacancies in the police service, 1,500 and in the National Defence Force, 800.  He said he would like cadets to automatically be able to enter these two institutions as they had already invested the time as young men to equip themselves with the necessary skills.