Commodore says he will address AG in another forum
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Tellis Bethel was on the defense Friday following scathing remarks made by Attorney General Carl Bethel.
Bethel, while speaking last Thursday in the Senate, reprimanded the armed forces on their handling of investigations into search and recovery efforts for pilot Byron Ferguson.
“How can we show our true concern for the human beings involved if we call off the search at the slightest pretext? It cannot be the situation. It cannot happen,” he said.
The attorney general said he would engage on a fact-finding mission to determine whether any procedural errors were made.
Commodore Bethel defended the integrity of the RBDF by stating, “I am not going to comment on what was said in the Senate, but I am going to comment on what we do.”
“Members of the RBDF were some of the first persons to put their lives on the line for this country.”
Commodore Bethel said the RBDF prides itself on training and refused to engage in a war of words in the media with the attorney general.
“Training is always ongoing for the RBDF. Rome was not built in a day. Sometimes you try to compare us with military services that has been around for 250 or over 300 years. We have only been around for 38 years and we are well ahead of where they were in comparison to many centuries ago,” Commodore Bethel said.
“So, training and development is a major thing for us and as a matter of fact the defence force just conducted an intense dive program for its members.
“Whatever comments I need to address to the attorney general I will do so in another forum. It will not be communicated through the media.”
