Army calls for private sector support … to transform Naval Training school

The corporate world has been challenged to help adequately equip the Naval Recruits Training School (NRTS) facilities under the Ghana Navy Training Command (NAVTRAC), at Nutekpor, near Sogakope in the Volta Region, in order to produce well-trained military men.

The call was made by Rear Admiral (R/Adm) Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro (rtd), a former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), under whose tenure and by whose instrumentation, the Ghana Navy took a huge leap into realizing the long desired aspiration of having a separate training command.

R/Adm Biekro was the Reviewing Officer at the Passing-Out Parade for the first batch of graduands (christened BT79) who passed out from NAVTRAC since its establishment.

R/Adm Biekro posited that the new sailors represented the future of the Ghana Navy and are the people, into whose hands the state entrusts its existence and defence, which obviously includes corporate activities and installations.

He also said notwithstanding budgetary constraints of the state, she through the Military High Command recruit regularly and train personnel to replenish the military force of the nation.

However, because of ever increasing needs of society, the corporate world would be executing its rightful duties if it took up the challenge to compliment the state's efforts in this particular direction.

He further advised the new sailors not to forget the discipline and character their instructors had instilled in them for the past six months, but be guided by integrity, teamwork spirit, endurance and respect for humanity.

He additionally urged them to be proud to show forth the transformation their lives had undergone within the past 24 weeks and to readily apply the impact in all their endeavours.

He was of high praise for some corporate institutions which took up the challenge and have made some contributions already, such as SICLife and Barclays Bank.

The Military High Command went through a lot of constraints to groom this first batch of trainees, who were admitted into the Command on the 6th of August, 2016.

At the time of induction in 2016, the media noticed that training was going to be organized under very trying conditions, not only for the recruits, but also for the very officers who had been drafted to train them.

To date, even after graduation, many of the officers are still sleeping in tents to supervise the new sailors. Amongst many others, it was observed that NAVTRAC  needed  a modern health facility, a soccer pitch, a volleyball court, a gymnasium for boxing and martial arts, facilities for steeple-chase, dredging of the river bordering the Command for swimming lessons and some swimming accoutrements.

Also urgently required are boarding facilities for ladies and gentlemen, both recruits and officers, messes for officers and other ranks, public washrooms and ultimately, the fencing of the entire NAVTRAC property against encroachment and the escape of recruits .

One would therefore appreciate the trying circumstances under which this batch of graduands were trained and yet passed out with flying colours.

In all, two hundred and thirty-five (235) recruits passed-out to be qualified sailors of the Ghana Armed Forces, although two hundred and forty-seven (247) were enrolled and inducted, in 2016.

In the end, one recruit was relieved of the training on health grounds and 11 others on disciplinary grounds.

The graduation ceremony, which was on Friday, the 24th of February, 2017, witnessed a large retinue of observers, which included invited guests, officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (Navy, Army and Airforce), Ghana Police, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Immigration service, together with family and friends of the graduands.

The Ghana Navy Band was present to provide the necessary atmosphere for the parade with fast and slow march tunes, under the able command of the indefatigable Sub Lieutenant (S/Lt) Stanley Brookman.

Under the instructions of the recruit parade commander, Recruit Petty Officer Class 1 (RPO1), Owusu Guggisberg and his Second in Command (2IC) RPO1 Felix Kpoyi Mawusuor, the 235 troops formed 8 contingents at the new but under-construction parade ground.

Six of the contingents were clad smartly and uniformly in sea-blue shirts, blue-black trousers, white hats and black boots to match with all bearing their AK47 rifles, while the other two were dressed as 'special forces' in their riot combat gear.

After the inspection of parade by the Reviewing officer, the recruits displayed fantastic skills in silent drills such that even older military personnel gathered were full of praise for them for being extraordinary.

The Commanding officer for NRTS, Lieutenant Commander (Lt Cdr) Abu Zakariah, administered the Oath of Allegiance to the recruits after, which prizes and awards presentations were given to deserving recruits.

The Ultimate Award, christened the Steve Obimpeh Award, with a cash donation of GHC1,000 donated by Commodore Steve Obimpeh (rtd), was won by the senior most recruit by virtue of performance and examination – Felix Kporyi Mawusuor.

Best in Academics went to IRENE AFRAKUMA OPOKU, while the Wheel Award went to Fairuza Ibrahim Zabzoure and the CO's Special Award to Joanna Sarpong.

Present for the successful graduation ceremony were Commodore Stephen George Obimpeh (rtd), Naval Captain Issah Yakubu (Fleet Officer Commanding – FOC, NAVTRAC and Chief Staff Officer – Naval Headquarters), Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) AS Ogaja, CO of the First Battalion of Infantry (1BN).

Others were Superintendent Aduhene Benieh, Sogakope District Commander, Ghana Police Service and Chief Superintendent Ferkah Johnson Kwabena, Officer In Charge, Sogakope, amongst many.

By John Bediako.