Winner of JDF Quiz to Become ‘Soldier for a Day’

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has launched its online quiz competition, which will allow the winner to become a soldier for a day.
The competition began on January 9, and will close at midnight on March 1, 2006.
The competition is open to members of the public and students, however only students between the ages of eight and 17, and who are enrolled in schools in Jamaica, will be eligible.
Lieutenant Commander, Kenneth Douglas, Second in Command of the Support and Services Battalion, explained to JIS News that, “the competition is geared at stimulating interest in the JDF’s website and also to expose the youngsters to the military world and some of the opportunities, which are available”.
In addition, the Lieutenant Commander is hoping that the competition would spark curiosity in young persons, who would usually not have an interest and those “who do not have much information on the JDF”. Although the programme is not designed specifically to increase the number of students who are a part of the cadet system found in most high schools, the Lieutenant Commander believes that an increase in the numbers could be a by-product of the competition.
According to him, the JDF would normally undertake public education campaigns to highlight the many roles and functions of the JDF, but this time, there was need to engage in a quiz competition rather than the usual methods.
“We felt we should do something differently and because we know that young adults and children tend to spend some time online, we felt that this was one way of attracting that target group,” the Lieutenant Commander added.
There is a pool of questions from which a total of 20 can be answered and the information on the website, which is, www.jdfmil.org forms the basis for the questions. These questions can be tried as many times as possible and students are encouraged to save the scores with which they are satisfied. The first person that achieves the highest score in the least number of attempts will be chosen as the winner.
However, in the event that there is a tie, the individual who completes the questions correctly and in the fastest possible time will become the ‘soldier for a day.’ In addition, special recognition will be given to schools with the most students attempting the quiz.
The winner will be notified through their schools and in order to claim prizes, the ‘soldier for a day’ will need authorization from parents or guardians.