AS Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Lamb is often in the news.

During the last week he has been hitting the headlines with a familiar plea to those who have been called up to show up, after two-thirds of the latest draft failed to appear for their initial medical check-up.

Col. Lamb responded by warning the draft dodgers that they would be pursued and picked up at home, at work or elsewhere.

"Most of the men we are resorting to chasing do very little with their lives," Col. Lamb said last week. "They certainly do not wish to give themselves to this community."

It has been a busy year for Col. Lamb with the Regiment Band playing in front of tens of thousands at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August, followed up by the massive Regiment operation in the wake of Hurricane Fabian the following month.

He volunteered for service in 1980, earned a commission in 1989 and served in a variety of posts in the Regiment, including Aide-de-Camp to the Governor Lord Waddington between 1992 and 1994 and Adjutant from 1997 to 2000.

He took over the top post at the Regiment in July last year, succeeding David Gibbons.

IT would be harder to find a more enthusiastic proponent of the benefits of the Regiment to the community than Col. Lamb. And maybe that stems the fact that he himself is something of a convert.

"When I first went into the Regiment I didn't want to be there," Col. Lamb said in an interview with this newspaper earlier this year. "I volunteered at 18 and that was because I wanted to get it out of the way so I wouldn't be called up when I was about 27."

His initial plan to do his three years' service and return to Civvy Street changed when he saw the opportunities available in the Regiment. And two decades later, he is the man in charge.

Fabian gave the Regiment a chance to show its true value to the island and Col. Lamb led an efficient operation involving around 330 soldiers which made a major contribution to getting the island back on its feet in quick time.

The Regiment received massive acclaim from a grateful public for their efforts, which included clearing debris from the roads, assisting with the repair of damage at the airport and the hospital, helping civilians with house repairs and directing traffic.

For Col. Lamb, it was his second experience of going into action after a devastating hurricane. In September 1987, when Emily hit the island, Col. Lamb was in charge of Charlie company, working in Paget and Devonshire.

"I saw families warming up soup for the soldiers," Col. Lamb said. "The look of gratitude on people's faces was unbelievably rewarding."

His determination in pursuing draft dodgers ? last year the Regiment nabbed some shirkers at football matches and one at the airport as he was about to fly away on vacation ? stems from his passionate belief that military service does young men good. And the dodgers may be some of those who could benefit the most.

"For some of them, army life represents their first taste of discipline," Col. Lamb said. "There are scores of guys who have never been told what time to get up and that it's not OK to sleep in until 10 a.m. In the Regiment, they learn that if you want respect, you have to earn it by showing respect to others.

"It's not just discipline we teach, it's taking responsibility for your own actions, making positive choices and having respect for yourself and others. Life does not accept excuses and neither does the Regiment."