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| Home > Info Centre > Press Releases – January 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GENERAL
POWELL’S VISIT The recent announcement of President-elect Bush of his intention to appoint General Colin POWELL as the next US Secretary of State has reminded me of the General’s visit to Jamaica. As a Jamaican I am of course proud of General POWELL. Much has already been written and I am sure will yet be written of the General’s Jamaican heritage. Most of what I have read about him in our local newspapers has been positive. His regard for his Jamaican connections should make many a Jamaican proud. His rise, to lead the most powerful armed forces in the world, and now to probably the third most powerful post in the USA, must send a clear message to the world that not all persons of Jamaican heritage commit their lives to criminal activity! General POWELL, as the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, visited Jamaica in 1992. I had the privilege of meeting him then when he visited the JDF. Our officers and soldiers were impressed with the presence of this man. Tall and smart, he moved with ease and appeared to be very much at home. Loo visitAs I recall a light-hearted incident during the visit he is also, of course, a biological normal human and so when Mother Nature beckoned, he requested the use of the lavatory at the Headquarters JDF (HQ JDF) building. The British constructed this building in the 19th century. There have been alterations to its original design. Towards the later part of the 19th century a lavatory was installed in a room that was originally designed as a small storeroom. There have been several attempts over the years to refurbish this lavatory (or, to use an old army term-loo) in an attempt to make it ‘user friendly’, but with little success, the building being archictectually attractive enough for generations of military men to have properly sought to preserve its original design features.
The men’s loo has a serious design fault – it has only one entrance/ exit door and no windows. Life in the toilet can be rather like the Black Hole of Calcutta of 19th century Imperial Indian Army mutiny fame – the heat, residual fragrances and very little turning room. One notable senior officer of the 1970s had remarked, when pressed to improve on its condition, "Life in a toilet is not suppose to be comfortable, after all, time should not be wasted in a toilet, there should be no messing around in there, just get back to your desk and on with the job as quickly as possible!" I suppose that is why the army is so productive and also why many civilians regard military men as full of you know what!
Just prior to the general’s visit the spring-loaded lock on the door to the HQ JDF toilet had developed an unpredictable glitch-the spring catch on the lock would sometimes not release, resulting in the occupant being unable to get out unless there was someone on the outside with the key. Care was therefore taken to put that spring catch temporarily out-of-service for the General’s visit. When General POWELL requested the use of the loo, his American security team went quickly to check it out and, unknown to JDF personnel put the ‘unserviceable’ lock back into service. Having then been given the green light for its use, the General himself entered and closed the door, with his attentive security officers on the outside. Some time passed and it eventually became obvious that the General was trying to get out and could not. The security personnel went into panic; the General had been trapped in the toilet! Quickly the key for the door was produced and a smiling General exited, looking quite bemused at his experience and at his red-faced security detail. Effective communicationIn general retrospect, all who came in contact with General POWELL that day were impressed with his humility and by his genuine interest in the JDF. His relaxed demeanour and his sharp wit were long-lasting impressions. At lunch he spoke to the senior officers of the JDF and shared with us one of his secrets of effective communication. He recalled that when he answered questions and spoke publicly he had always to be carefully conscious of the audience he was addressing, and in his case especially he was always mindful of his additional unseen audiences; his political masters, officers and servicemen and women, the serviceman’s family, the US taxpayer, allies and – the enemy.
The General’s day could have ended on a tragic note. The JDF Bell 212 helicopter transporting him and his wife from Up Park Camp to Norman Manley International Airport, developed engine governor failure and had to execute an emergency landing. As a combat-experienced officer of long standing and experience, of course he remained perfectly calm throughout the emergency landing procedure. The JDF Air Wing pilots did what they were trained to do, and did it very well – a fact which did not miss the attention of the General when, on leaving the downed helicopter, he commended the pilots for their competence.
Nineteen (19) years ago a young vibrant Lloyd Anderson joined the ranks of the civilian casual workers employed to the Jamaica Defence Force. His aim was to escape the scourge of crime and violence that tormented the inner city and to find some gainful employment in the process. He is a dedicated member of the civilian staff employed to the Jamaica Defence Force Engineer Regiment whose humility and modesty belies his achievements. Mr Anderson has been the recipient of the coveted Chief of Staff worker of the year trophy for four (04) years consecutively, having been selected as the most outstanding worker since 1997. "I feel really honoured to be considered for this trophy on so many occasions" he said. Mr Anderson explained that he was not working with the trophy in mind but instead he just comes to work and put in a hard day’s work every time. He operates a "ride on" lawn mower but does not restrict himself to the lawns. Mr Anderson makes himself available to do whatever he is called upon to do. Hence, it is not uncommon to see him working alongside a plumber, carpenter or any other tradesmen, doing whatever he can to help out. He is no stranger to the various military bases island-wide as from time to time he visits them to conduct mosquito eradication. Mr Anderson also spends time away from home "soldiering" alongside the maintenance team at the training base in Port Antonio, Portland when overseas troops are stationed there. "I do not see myself as a nine to five worker, so it is no problem to spend time away from home on the job. My family is very supportive of me so that makes it a lot easier" Lloyd remarked. He has been serving for nineteen (19) years and plans on being in the JDF for the foreseeable future. If Lloyd Anderson has a motto, he would have borrowed from a famous memory gem – ‘If a task once begun never leave it till it’s done, be the labour great or small do it well or not at all.’ Mr Anderson is married with two (02) children.
On Thursday 04 January 2001 a mobile unit from the blood bank visited Up Park Camp seeking voluntary donations of blood. Volunteers from various Units including the civilians of the Force showed a willingness to participate in the exercise. Senior Blood Technologist Mrs Audrick McDOWE explained that there is dire need for blood during the festive season as a result of the increased demand for the commodity. "It is critical that we collect blood on an ongoing basis and especially during this season when the demand for it is at its highest", she said. The demand increases result from the higher traffic accident rate that is usually experienced during this period of the year. A number of soldiers benefited from the exercise indirectly although they were not allowed to donate because of medical or other reasons. They were made aware of medical conditions affecting them, resulting from the screening tests conducted. One soldier explained that it was an eye opener for him to learn that although he was healthy he could not give blood because he recently had a tattoo etched on his arm and a waiting period of one year was mandatory under such circumstances. "I never knew that, that could have an effect at all", he said. A major misconception regarding the spread of disease especially AIDS was cleared up through a leaflet distributed by the mobile unit, to each donor. The leaflet explained in detail that giving blood was basically a risk free exercise. A small total of thirty-eight (38) units of blood was donated, this was largely due to the high deployment of troops on operational duties.
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