B.D.F. Volunteer Battalion learns Jungle Survival Skills in San Antonio Village, Toledo

The Belize Defense Force Volunteer Battalion is conducting its Annual Battle Camp in San Antonio Village, Toledo District. The training, which runs from July seventeenth to July thirty first, is focused on jungle survival.  The Volunteer Battalion is being taught the basics when it comes to weapons handling, patrolling in the jungle, and first aid. Here is a brief look at how that training has been going, courtesy the Press Office.

James Petillo

Lt. Colonel James Petillo, Commanding Officer, Volunteer Battalion

“At presently we have over three hundred soldiers on the ground doing, like I mentioned earlier, jungle exercise. How it is structured is that within the first week, we conducted the dry training in terms of patrolling, harboring. We did weapon handling, first aid and many more that coincides with jungle training. During the second week, everything that is learnt during the first week is implemented in the second week with and FTS exercise taking place in the jungle. The goal is to train the soldiers to be ready for any battle so that they could stand beside their regular element.”

Alex Nolberto

Alex Nolberto, Second-in- Command, Belize Defense Force

“We taught those basic tactics, hygiene in the jungle, how to build their shelter, how to collect water, the jungle rules, and survival rules, and how to actually stay concealed and conduct operations so as to take out enemy positions and to maintain and dominate ground. This is a force level exercise. What you saw was just a portion of it. Just to put you into the picture, what had happened is that the Belize Defense Force received information that there were enemy activities within this general area. So the volunteer battalion was tasked to conduct patrols and locate these enemy positions and take them out.”