The Royal Bermuda Regiment featured two recently promoted soldiers to encourage members of the public to join.

Corporal JD Symonds and Corporal Joliza Vanderpool shared their stories in a set of video interviews released over the RBR’s social media platforms.

They were two of several videos to come in support of the regiment’s annual recruitment drive.

Corporal Symonds, from Sandys, said that he joined the RBR in 2018 and has since become a full-time member of the RBR Coastguard.

He explained in his video: “When I came, I came directly into Boat Troop, as it was called back then, which developed into Coastguard.

“Ever since I joined, I have had nothing but opportunity — I’ve had training opportunities, I’ve had work opportunities, it’s just been amazing.”

The 27-year-old said that potential recruits would always find something to gain, adding: “There is never a time when you come in and don’t learn anything”.

He added: “With the amount of opportunity that’s here, there is always going to be something that’s going to benefit you.”

Corporal Symonds cautions new recruits that the initial training “completely twists” expectations on what it meant to be a soldier and a member of the RBR.

He added that hard work would be rewarded with a strong sense of family with the other soldiers.

Corporal Symonds also said: “With the career management officer and being the soldier that I am, they’re already planning out a path for me to advance my career, and it sounds really good.”

Corporal Vanderpool, a clerk in the training wing of the regiment headquarters, said that involvement with the RBR was “a working and learning experience”.

A chef by trade, the 31-year-old explained that her experience as a clerk allowed her to branch out beyond the kitchen and take up a role as a hotel receptionist and a night auditor.

Corporal Vanderpool said that her position involved keeping personnel files up to date, inputting attendance information and organising documents for lessons.

She added: “We also get to travel and make money at the same time, so it’s a win-win situation.

“I’m being paid to get on a plane and work in a foreign country — work that I’ve been taught how to do at home — so it’s an opportunity to grow, and you can prove to people that you have grown by showing what you’ve learnt or being able to teach other people what you’ve learnt.”

Corporal Vanderpool, from Paget, said that the camaraderie was incredibly strong within the RBR.

She said: “To me, the regiment is like a home away from home.

“You come up here, you get to build relationships with the other people that are up here as well, and it becomes like a brother-slash-sisterhood.”

The RBR’s next recruit training package will run from February 11 to 23.

All Bermuda residents aged 18 to 52 are encouraged to apply.

For more information on how to join, visit the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s website or call 238-1045.