page_title: Royal Bermuda Regiment
section_title: Conscription
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Bermuda Regiment / Organisation / Conscription
caption_attribution_description: English: Bermuda Regiment recruits clean their Ruger Mini-14 rifles, prior to shooting on a 25m range at Warwick Camp, during the 1993 Recruit Camp. The rifles in this photo are Ruger Mini-14GBs; which can be identified by the bayonet lug, the sight base further back on the barrel and the operating rod to charge the bolt. They have been fitted with synthetic, most likely Choate, riflestocks. Uploaded by the author.
context_page_description: The Royal Bermuda Regiment, formerly the Bermuda Regiment, is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the mostly black Bermuda Militia Artillery and the almost entirely white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps.
context_section_description: The majority of the regiment was made up of conscripts up to July 2018, making it unique among all of the land forces under the British Crown.  
  Conscription was based on a random lottery of men through the ages of 18 to 23, with exemptions granted to Police and Prison officers, members of the British regular forces (or men who have served for two years), church ministers, prisoners or those judged to be of "unsound mind".  Temporary deferment was granted for full-time students (attending either the Bermuda College or schools abroad), for the length of their studies, and individuals medically unfit but likely to become fit again. Conscientious objectors had the opportunity to either serve in a non-combatant role or perform an alternative community service chosen by the governor.
  Both Bermudians and non-Bermudians criticised conscription for its alleged sexism and similarity to slavery (a sensitive issue given the historic background of Bermuda), and this has been noted in the British Parliament. It received support from the community, however, and was hailed for causing interaction between social and racial groups. 
  At its height, three-quarters of the strength of the Bermuda Regiment was made up of conscripts, although many soldiers, whether they initially volunteered or were conscripted, elected to re-engage annually after their initial three years and two months term of service was completed, with some serving for decades (such as WO2 Bernard Pitman, who retired in 2013 after forty years of service).
  In 2018, the House of Assembly of Bermuda voted to abolish conscription, effective of 1 July 2018.
caption: Recruits clean their Mini-14 rifles, prior to a shoot at Warwick Camp, during the 1994 Recruit Camp.
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