The Bermuda Regiment joined a brotherhood of British Army units on Monday night when the British Army's highest ranking general presented the Regiment with a Corps Warrant.

The admission will allow Bermudian troops to attend more training courses and larger operations - including United Nations missions, and also allow soldiers eligible for British decorations such as the Queen's Jubilee Medal. There is also speculation that there will be financial incentives.

The largely symbolic decoration is an admittance onto a list, sanctioned and monitored by the Queen, that allows the regiment a closer affiliation with British units.

"It can be said, we're going from being a step-brother to a brother," said Regiment Adjutant Captain William White.

British General Sir Michael Walker, Chief of the General Staff (commander of the British Army) who presented the Corps Warrant, said the regiment's relationship with the British Army had matured into to a marriage.

Warwick Camp hosted dignitaries including outgoing Governor and Regiment Commander-in-Chief Thorold Masefield and Ministry of Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Robert Horton.

Capt. White told The Royal Gazette that the Corps Warrant will help "open doors".

Several officers emphasised that Bermuda Regiment soldiers are eligible for the Queen's Jubilee Medal, a gift from Buckingham Palace to serving soldiers - if Premier Jennifer Smith approves.

The British Defence Ministry have approved the award but the Bermuda Government must send the request back to the UK before the Queen is expected to authorise the release.

The application process began in 1996, when then commanding officer Senator (Lt. Col.) David Burch launched enquiries with the UK Ministry of Defence for the Bermuda Regiment to be included in the Corps Warrant.

This resulted in an exchange of letters in 1997 between HE The Governor and the Chief of the General Staff, who both strongly supported the Lt. Col. Burch's initiative.

There is a precedence for the Bermuda Regiment's inclusion in the Corps Warrant, dating back to the Bermuda Militia Artillery in 1916.

Apart from the Bermuda Regiment the only overseas regiment listed in the Corps Warrant is the Royal Gibraltar Regiment - the unit that hosted four Regiment soldiers during a recent training exercise in September called Exercise Jebel Sahara.

The Corps Warrant is signed "Given at Our Court at St. James's, this Twenty-first day of February 2000, in the Fortieth-Ninth year of Our Reign By Her Majesty's Command.''