HIGHGATE, St Mary — Special needs students have not been left out of a recruitment drive to boost the ranks of the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF), which now has between 3,000 and 4,000 cadets in high schools across the country and wants to double that number by the end of this year.

Seven high-ranking members of the JCCF launched the recruitment drive last Friday and among the schools visited was Rose Bank Centre of Excellence located in Dean Pen, St Mary. According to Principal Dawnette Lewis, the school caters to children, aged 12-19, who have special abilities. She was thrilled to welcome JCCF Commandant Brigadier Errol Johnson and his team for the launch.

“Being involved in cadet force may prove to be a bit challenging for students with physical disabilities. However, the majority of our students have intellectual disabilities. Just a few are physically challenged. Therefore, a special curriculum will be crafted to suit the needs of our students who are eager to become members,” said Lewis.

Joining the cadet force is seen as a way to help teenagers learn discipline and life skills that will help them later in life.

“Today, we are out here in collaboration with the police. The Ministry of National Security’s social intervention strategy is all about combatting deviant and antisocial behaviour in children, and that’s what they expect of the cadet force – to not only prepare or mould these youngsters into model citizens, but giving them that feeling of stability and purpose,… also to see how we can help to eradicate the kind of behaviour that eventually will lead them into committing youth crimes,” said training officer Lieutenant Colonel Kirk Fraser, who is stationed at Up Park Camp.

He told the Jamaica Observer that he is optimistic the recruitment push will help double the force’s numbers.

During their stop in St Mary last week, the team also visited St Mary High School.

“At the end of the day, children are searching for a sense of belonging. That’s one of the reasons why you find that criminal gangs are able to recruit them. They just want to affiliate themselves with some group, but not all groups are positive,” Fraser said.

Among residents who expressed support for the JCCF initiative was Vivian “Creed” Chambers who was a boy cout when he was younger.

“All citizens, not just students, should have some amount of military training. It’s a part of survival and discipline. We would have a completely better society where discipline is concerned,” he told the Observer.

“The military training never leaves you. It becomes a life-long skill,” Chambers added.

Head of the St Mary Police Division Superintendent Bobette Morgan-Simpson and other members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force were also at the launch.

— Davia Ellis