All 87 recruits will join the Coast Guard fleet immediately. They will spend an entire year as a seaman's apprentice. The Commandant says that because the recruit training is only 3 months long, they couldn't focus on enough seamanship.
This new intake of recruits is part of the Coast Guard's strategy to grow its numbers up to 700 officers in total. The commandant says that they are a bit behind on that plan, but it's still an important goal for the organization:
Captain Elton Bennett - New Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"The Coast Guard strategy calls for a 700-strong Coast Guard by 2020. We fell behind a bit, and the plan is to try to get up to 700. We're not going to make it by 2020, so we're increasing our numbers."
"The challenge for me is really to balance that strategy, ensuring that our equipment and operating costs can match the resources that we have onboard. We want to be able to grow the organization together. We don't want to become lopsided with too many personnel and then, we don't have the operating cost or the maintenance cost to sustain."
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