Military promises full investigation
With Rafael Pop unable to speak, and his family searching for answers, this afternoon Jacqueline Woods headed up to Price Barracks, where the Deputy Commandant of the Belize Defence Force promised that the incident will not be the subject of a cover up.
Jacqueline Woods
“Is the army responsible for what occurred Friday afternoon?”
Lt. Col. George Lovell, Ag. Deputy Commandant, B.D.F.
“Can’t say at this time. I will not accept responsibility at this time or deny responsibility at this time. And the reason why I can’t do that is because we have an investigating team going on, and who knows exactly what happened.”
Acting Deputy Commandant of the Belize Defence Force, Lieutenant Colonel George Lovell says the case is unusual because it is the first incident of its kind to have occurred to one of their soldiers. The sixty-six soldiers had just conducted an introductory shooting exercise with M-16 rifles at the Salt Creek range and were on a four mile march back to Price Barracks in Ladyville when twelve of the soldiers were overcome by the heat. Three recruits had to be hospitalised for severe heat exhaustion, while two including Pop, suffered with heatstroke. Unfortunately, Pop developed seizures and then went into cardiac arrest. Though doctors managed to get his heart beating again, the young man’s brain cells were severely damaged and he went into a coma and never regained consciousness.
Jacqueline Woods
“The father told us that on Saturday morning a group of B.D.F. soldiers visited him at his home and he is saying one of the soldiers told him that maybe Pop did not have any water on him or vitamins, and that is why he may have collapsed.”
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“Well, I don’t know again. I would hope that whatever the investigating team brings out, this may be one of the findings that they come up with, if he had or had not had sufficient liquid within his system; but I don’t know.”
Lovell says the training can get very physical, especially under extreme conditions, but they have safety measures in place to rescue any soldier who may be in trouble.
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“First of all, we have a safety vehicle. And there’s a medical orderly that would be out there in that safety vehicle with all the necessary medical equipment that would sustain the recruits while they are out there; this was present.”
“There are recruit instructors, who are with the entire recruit as they are going along. And they look and they notice, and if they see someone really hurt to the extent that they need medical attention, then the safety vehicle is called. The medic would normally look after them. What I found very strange was the number of individuals that actually suffered from the heat injuries. And again, what actually happened out there is yet to be proven.”
“They are pushed to their limit that we believe that they can all cope with. They are not pushed beyond a limit that they should not be able to cope with.”
Lovell says he is not aware if Pop complained that he could not continue the march, but he would like to assure the family and the public that the incident will be fully investigated. Lovell did admit that the army has standing orders concerning the training of their soldiers, and one of the instructions specifies that such physical training should not take place during hours of extreme heat. So what happened?
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“What we need to look at is to ensure that whatever we have in these standing orders are enforced. What we did so far, we went to the training unit, and the officer commanding, and we sent down instructions that in no uncertain terms that the training must be kept outside these peak hours when the heat is up. So we are looking at very early training where it involves physical training, and later in the evening when the sun is going down.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So these are the new measures that have since been introduced?”
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“Well what I was told when I went to the commander and let him know this, he said, but this is nothing new you’re telling me, we have been doing this.”
Jacqueline Woods
“But what time did this occur, wasn’t it in the peak hours?”
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“Well yes, it happened in the peak hours, just after two o’clock.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So maybe it shouldn’t have been done then, since the Commandant is saying that this is nothing new?”
Lt. Col. George Lovell
“What we are saying now is, listen, even if you have something organised that will be of a physical nature, don’t do it at this time.”
Recruit Rafael Pop entered the B.D.F. on April First and was expected to pass out as a trained soldier in August following the sixteen-week training programme. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
At news time we were informed that Pop was still on life support at the K.H.M.H.
