The Nigerian Army concluded its five-day training for non-commissioned officers in the Niger Delta at the weekend, with a vow to continue to uphold the highest level of professionalism in carrying out its constitutional duties.
During the exercise, which also involved special tutorship for Warrant Officers on weapons handling at the Elele Military Cantonment, Rivers State, the soldiers underwent physical fitness training, map reading competition, combat swimming as well as a drill competition which took place in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Major formations included in the training were: 2 Brigade, Uyo; 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt; 56 Signals Brigade; 16 Brigade, Yenagoa; 46 Engineers Brigade and 6 Division, also in Rivers.
Drawing the curtains on the event, Maj.-Gen Ibrahim Yusuf, former General Officer Commanding, 7 Division, Borno State, now Executive Director, Consult, Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja, said the soldiers and officers would continue to adhere to the highest standards of discipline.
He said: “Training is the foundation of anything we do in the military and the vision of our chief of army staff is to have a professionally responsive Nigerian army in the discharge of its constitutional roles and to attain that vision, we have to keep training and retraining.
“Of course, the standard meets that which is was set out by the Nigerian Army, for their rank category. More importantly, aspects of teamwork, sportsmanship, determination to succeed were played out during the competition.
“Training is a continuous process, the soldiers should not go back and wait for the next competition. They should continue to train and this will be ensured by their commanding officers.”
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Maj.-Gen Musa Yusuf, had said that the soldiers were subjected to various tests to ensure their readiness for combat in the region and wherever they are deployed.
He said: “This exercise was part of the vision of the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) and part of our training directive for 2018. The Nigerian Army has a vision of having a professionally responsive force in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.
“In order to achieve that vision, we have two pivots which are regimentation and professionalism. You cannot do this without training. It was in continuation of series of training packages we have been having since the beginning of the year.”
Yusuf, who was also at the weekend redeployed to 81 Division, Lagos, lauded the units for taking advantage of the “rare opportunity” and ensured that they learnt fast during the five-day event.
In his comments, Brig.-Gen Kevin Aligbe, the 16 Brigade Commander in Yenagoa, who also doubled as the host of the event, praised the participants for being good sportsmen and expressed the hope that the training would begin to reflect in their day-to-day activities.
At the end of the inter-formation competition, 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt emerged the overall best, 16 Brigade, Bayelsa came second, while 2 Brigade, Uyo won the bronze.
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