Case of missing Galil

REGIMENT authorities must take a serious look at the deployment of weapons among soldiers at Camp Ogden and the security arrangements at the Long Circular Base from which a number of guns have disappeared over the past few months. One of weapons, a Galil assault rifle, which was assigned to a recruit, has been missing from the camp since Tuesday. It is quite disturbing to think that these guns, manufactured for war, could possibly fall into the hands of criminals and we expect that the on-going search for them will continue until they are recovered or disciplinary action taken against those responsible.

The Galil, we are told, is the most lethal firearm used by the army, coast guard and police. A single magazine for this rifle carries 25 to 35 rounds of ammunition which can be discharged at a rate of 650 rounds per minute with an effective killing range of 500 to 600 metres. We shudder to think of such a weapon finding its way into the arsenal of the criminal element or joining the escalating warfare among armed gangs in the country. The fact is that firearms, regardless of their power, cannot just walk out of Camp Ogden on their own. If they are missing and the soldiers to whom they have been entrusted cannot give a reasonable explanation for their disappearance, then it must be assumed that they have been stolen. And if these sophisticated, high-powered weapons are stolen, then we must ask for what purpose?

Already, the country must be alarmed by the apparent ease with which rival gang members in the city are able to obtain the guns they use to wage their murderous warfare. Fatal shootings and assassination by armed assailants have become the major form of crime in the country, a development which must engage the urgent attention of Trevor Paul, the new Commissioner of Police. What are the sources of these guns? How are they coming into the country? In seeking to find answers to these questions, the new CoP must look searchingly at the security systems operating within the Service to ensure that the large cache of arms and ammunition seized from the criminal element are safely kept and there is no loophole or laxity through which they may fall back into lawless and violent hands. We often wonder what eventually is done with the large collection of illegal firearms amassed by the Police after these weapons have served their purpose as evidence. Are they destroyed or simply forgotten in some corner of the station?

In his first meeting with the media this week, Paul was quite reassuring, particularly in his recognition that the failure of the organisation to adequately protect and serve our citizens is as a result of “major deficiencies at the management level.”  It is our view that the safe keeping of guns and ammunition captured by the Police is a vital function and responsibility of the management of the Service, and if this happens to be one of the areas of deficiency referred to by the Commissioner, then he must take action immediately to rectify it. As far as the Camp Ogden situation is concerned, we are moved to question the fact that the missing Galil assault rifle was assigned to a recruit. Is this the proper procedure? Should such a weapon be assigned to a mere recruit, and if so under what conditions? Is he allowed to leave it, or lay it down in some place where it can be stolen? Apart from a vigilant search for the missing weapons, the seriousness of this matter demands a thorough investigation by the Regiment authorities and appropriate action against those responsible.