Army prepares for long crime war

THE ARMY will help to bring crime in Trinidad and Tobago under control, and is preparing itself for a long campaign against the criminal elements, according to Ag Commander of the TT Regiment, Colonel Edmond Dillon.

Speaking with reporters yesterday following the handover of military equipment from the Chinese Government to the TT Defence Force, Colonel Dillon declared: “We (Army) are here to support the civil powers, the police, in the fight against crime and we will be here as long as it takes to bring this into some form of normalcy. There is no time limit. We have no time limit.” Yesterday, police and army officers initiated a new operation which will see a heightened police-military presence in all divisions throughout the country. The major objective of this operation is to flush out criminal elements, seize illegal weapons and return communities back to law-abiding citizens.

Asked whether the Army’s resources were currently stretched to the limit, Dillon replied: “We are not stretched. We have been doing a rotation of the troops, so that we will not be using the same soldiers in a sense. We can move them around, between barracks and that type of thing.” Pointing towards the nearby parade ground, Dillon said: “This batch that is training here. They will be passing out in January and that is roughly about 200 soldiers. New soldiers that are being added on (to boost the size of the Regiment).” While Dillon declined to state the actual number of troops to be deployed during this operation, he indicated: “It depends on the task at hand, we assign the troops to suit the task.

Colonel Dillon said the new equipment received yesterday will be of tremendous help to troops during this new anti-crime offensive. The equipment is classified as “military logistical equipment” and includes gas masks, tents, laptop computers, scanners, digital cameras, tents, field kitchen equipment and uniforms. He disclosed that “the troops on patrol will be carrying the gas masks with them which can be used in case of emergency if the situation determines.”