Stop indiscriminate firing of warning shots- Maj. Gen. Odotei cautions soldiers

The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Samuel Odotei, has expressed concern about the indiscriminate firing of warning shots on the least provocation, and the general poor Weapon Handling Skills of soldiers on both internal and external operations.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the three-day Army Inter-Command Shooting Competition at Yaohima Military Range in Sunyani, the Chief of Army Staff stressed that such behaviour by soldiers painted a negative picture of their professional standards.

According to Major General Odotei, it should be the challenge of every soldier to devote his/her time and energy to training hard in order to achieve better results and advised the young soldiers to look up to the Senior Officers for guidance and encouragement.

He urged the Senior Officers to help mould the young soldiers into good shots and skillful weapon handlers, which could only be achieved through training, saying, “Competition such as this is, is the vehicle for achieving our professional goals”.

The Chief of Army Staff called on all involved in the selection, training and administration of the shooting team to be up and doing, notwithstanding the challenges faced in organizing and running such competitions.

He noted that though the challenges looked insurmountable, through the commitment and dedication of the organizers they were able to come out with a successful competition and could do better next time with the same zeal.

According to him, the competition was organized to train and assess the competencies of the officers, men and women in the professional handling of weapons and sharp shooting as well as raising a formidable team for the Army towards this year's Inter-Services shooting competition, 'Ex FIREBLAST 2007' scheduled for October 15-19 and creating a forum for building 'esprit-de-corps' and healthy interaction among the troops of the Army.

He expressed happiness about revelations of some potential marksmen that the officials had taken note to be included in the Army's shooting team.

Major Gen. Odotei challenged young soldiers, both male and female that such competitions offered them the chance to showcase their talents, therefore they should show more interest in all fields of military endeavour, including range work.

He advised them that their active participation would bring them to the notice of the Commanders and would also enhance their professional performances, since their progress in the Service would depend on how positively they applied themselves in all fields.

The Chief of Army Staff congratulated the Army for the positive and healthy display of sportsmanship, particularly those from the Northern Command for winning the overall Best Team award due to an outstanding performance.

The Northern Command team won the best M16 Raffle category, the SMG category, Pistol category as well as the Overall best, while the Southern Command team was the runner-up but was best in the Falling Plate category.

Individually, Sgt. Azure, Private Owusu, Staff Sgt. Horlari, Private Darkwa, Lance Corporal Bellamon - all of the Northern Command were adjudged best in their various categories and received certificates and plagues, while Lance Corporal Larry of the Support Service emerged the best in the non-scoring Staff Machinegun shoot.