A two-week training camp for the island’s soldiers ended with an off-the-battlefield engagement when one member of the Royal Bermuda Regiment proposed to his girlfriend in front of the couple’s comrades.

Corporal Shannon Showers-Cassidy, 26, got down on one knee and produced a ring for Lance Corporal Ronesha James-Dill, 21, as troops were gathered at an appreciation and awards ceremony.

There were cheers and happy tears as the engagement took place.

Corporal Showers-Cassidy, a ninth-year soldier from Warwick, said: “The regiment has been a big part of my life, so I just decided to have everybody involved in it.”

Lance Corporal James-Dill, a heavy-truck driver, from Pembroke, said: “It took me by surprise; it was something I wasn’t expecting.

“To find out the preparations, lengths and extremes that he went to in order to make it not only a special moment for me, but also to share it with our family and friends, made the moment that much more special.

“It was very sweet.”

More than 150 members of defence forces from four British Overseas Territories came together for Exercise Island Warrior 24 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

RBR troops were joined by soldiers and officers from the Turks & Caicos Islands Regiment, the Cayman Islands Regiment and the Falkland Islands Defence Force.

Major Kenji Bean, Commanding Officer for the exercise, said: “Everybody became a team and learnt from each other, which was my desire in the beginning.

“Everybody enjoyed their time working together on the final exercise as well as in the team-building events that ran over the last few days.”

He added: “The ability to use multiple ranges with multiple features and benefits that we don’t get to use at home is a big plus.

“Having the building facilities at the MOUT [military operations in urban terrain] site and combat town allowed us to test our skills and drills, whether it was vehicle patrols or being able to breach and clear buildings.

“The facilities offered are amazing for us to practise, test and build on all the training that we do at home.”

He described Corporal Showers-Cassidy’s engagement to Lance Corporal James-Dill as “the cherry on top”.

Major Bean said: “The fact that he felt comfortable enough that he wanted his regiment family to be his support speaks volumes about how much of a family we are to our people.”

As well as urban operations, live firing and conventional warfare, the exercise provided specialist training through separate programmes to medics and members of the Regimental Police.

Colour Sergeant Patricia Woolridge, 36, from Paget, who is in command of the RBR’s medics section, explained: “We learnt a lot of new things, such as how to put in an IV needle and how to best deal with medical situations in a combat environment.

“They had an amazing simulation lab, which was a room that could be staged, so they would turn on the noise and smoke — it feels like a real combat field.

“You have mannequins that bleed and they can get better or worse depending on the treatment they’re given.

“It was a good opportunity to be able to see and deal with real-life wounds without somebody being injured.”

Private Ryan Gibbons, from Southampton, reflected on why the medics unit is a good fit for him.

The 29-year-old, who works part-time in private security and at ABC Natural Foods, said: “Even though I’m in the military, my focus is on keeping people in my team alive and functioning at their best.

“I think that’s good for me; that gels with my general life aspirations.”

Corporal Gary Dowling, a second-in-command with the Regimental Police, said the unit’s training with US military police included reassurance and public-order exercises.

The 42-year-old audio visual technician, from Smith’s, added: “The overall discipline and knowledge about what we’re supposed to be doing and how we can accomplish certain things was really good.

“For the second half of the week, we went over to the brig — the jailhouse on the base.

“We got a tour of the facility and they did a mock exercise for us where they had an unruly prisoner; it was really cool.

“We did several lessons with their OC spray — pepper spray; we used some of their non-lethal weapons as well.”

Corporal Dowling added: “We have two RPs that joined us right before the trip.

“To see them go from zero to where they are already, without any other formal training from our side, has been amazing to watch.”

• For more information or to join the Royal Bermuda Regiment, visitrbr.bmor call 238-1045