Keep on trucking, BATSUB upgrades its fleet

A high level British official is on an official visit in respect of Britain’s defense program with Belize which has been scaled down considerably. Dr Andrew Murrisson, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for International Security Strategy, visited the BATSUB’s Headquarters but fell short of committing increased resources. News Five Isani Cayetano has the story.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A fleet of twenty heavy duty vehicles, including a number of military six-tonners, was presented to the British Army Training Support Unit Belize this afternoon.  The upgrade from the obsolete Bedford trucks is part of the British Army’s global modernization efforts.  Dr. Andrew Murrisson of the UK’s Ministry of Defense, who is on an official visit to Belize, was on hand for the brief ceremony.

Dr. Andrew Murrisson, Ministry of Defense, United Kingdom

“The UK regards Belize as very important in terms of our engagement in this area.  We’ve got longstanding historic ties with Belize and they are very much valued and the upgrading of this fleet is a sign of how serious we are about Belize and making sure that we continue our very good relationship with this country going forward.”

Despite a gradual reduction in personnel attached to BATSUB since 2011, the detachment maintains its presence in Belize, where exercises in jungle warfare are routinely conducted.

Andrew Murrisson

Dr. Andrew Murrisson

“We hope that we will be able to continue our program of training here into the future.  It’s a very valuable training environment for our people.  People like to come here from the armed forces and they feel very welcomed here and it provides a lot of facilities that we need to do the sort of things that we need to prepare for.  So it’s a good environment for us and we are very pleased that BATSUB is here doing what it has to do and obviously we will continue to keep the money level under review as with all things in defense in the UK, but I’m very pleased to see BATSUB flourishing here at the moment.”

Since the British Army withdrew its last helicopter from Belize in 2011, concerns have been raised by the Ministry of National Security about air support.  According to Murrisson, the issue remains under consideration.

Dr. Andrew Murrisson

“I think jungle training is very important and Belize offers and ideal environment for that.  In terms of air assets, obviously we keep these matters under review all the time, our armed forces are very dynamic these days and our posture does change from time to time.  Obviously I’m here to take note of what Belize has to offer and what I find out here will certainly form our views on what we do in the future.”

During Murrisson’s two-day visit he will call on the ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Security. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

This is the second visit by UK Minister to Belize in the past four months.