Soldiers who were deployed on clean-up efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ernesto felt a sense of purpose as they helped return the island to normal, according to the Royal Bermuda Regiment.

About 125 RBR personnel were mobilised on Friday and were based at five locations: Warwick Camp; the Emergency Measures Organisation’s operations centre; Southside Police Station; the emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy; and the coastguard base at Scenic House in Sandys.

Troops on the ground were split into immediate response teams, each covering different parts of the island after the Category 1 hurricane hit.

Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Simons explained: “The IRT at Southside, St David’s, had a boat from the coastguard with them, so they launched that to assist public works with the inspection of the Causeway.

“That IRT was later dispatched to the airport to clear the runway for Skyport so that flights can arrive.

“The coastguard has been out doing welfare checks and assessing the state of the maritime environment.”

“We’ve also had teams on buses assisting the public transport department to make sure their routes are cleared.”

Soldiers started clean-up work when conditions allowed on Saturday and were back at it from early today.

Colonel Simons added: “It’s good to be out in public meeting a need, I think that’s valued.

“It’s not such a severe storm that we’re going to be out for days, helping in neighbourhoods — the scale of assistance is not going to be as prolonged — but we do appreciate the community support.”

Corporal Orville Hall, 39, is no stranger to hurricane relief efforts. The chainsaw operator was part of an IRT working to clear roads this weekend.

The Devonshire resident, who is a chef in civilian life, said: “There wasn’t a lot of big debris, but we cleared roads from Warwick Camp to Dockyard then moved on to bus routes, clearing the overhanging trees and small branches sitting in the road that would be an obstruction for the vehicles.”

He added: “Being trained and capable of assisting — it gives me great pleasure to know that I can come out and help to bring the island back to normalcy. This is training being put to use.”

For Private Mikhyla Ming, being involved in hurricane clear-up work was new.

The 19-year-old sales associate from Somerset said: “It was kind of concerning because we are away from our family members, but overall it was pretty decent.

“We saw a lot of low power lines on Saturday but as we were coming back we noticed that people were getting their lights on, so it definitely lifted everyone’s concerns for their families.”

Major Kenji Bean, the officer in charge at the Regiment’s operations room at Warwick Camp, explained that after the green light was given from the EMO operations centre, reconnaissance teams were the first to be sent out to assess roads for obstructions and damage.

It meant IRTs could be dispatched effectively and efficiently, with access for emergency service vehicles and routes to the hospital being the highest priorities.

Major Bean said: “The troops were chomping at the bit to get out and do the job, looking for things to do.”