52 Students For Junior Staff Course 70 Graduates From Ghana Armed Forces Command And Staff College

The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Junior Division has graduated a total of 52 students from four countries for the Junior Staff Course 70. The graduands of the course included; two officers from Botswana Defence Forces, two officers from the Armed Forces of Liberia and five officers from the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

The remaining 42 were Ghanaian officers drawn from the Ghana Army, the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Air Force and one officer from the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority. Eight of the Ghanaian officers were females from the Army and Navy.

Brigadier General MN Akpatsu, Assistant Commandant of Junior Division of the GAFCSC in his report at the ceremony said that, the Junior Division was aimed at training selected officers to perform staff functions up to the rank of captain or its equivalent.

He said this was done by developing their leadership, analytical and communication skills while providing the foundation for the student's subsequent career development.

'It is only students who are able to prove their ability and meet the course standards that are awarded the symbol 'JSC' which signifies that the graduand has passed the Junior Staff Course. This is an achievement that compares favourably with similar standards within the militaries elsewhere in the world,' he said.

He said the course toured some selected Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies in Western Region to study the impact of oil production on fishing communities around the oil enclave and the effects of oil discovery on employment, income and socio-cultural life of the Region.

Brigadier General Samuel Kwame Boafo, a former Commandant of the GAFCSC who was the guest of honour congratulated the graduands for their successful completion of the 18 week course.

He said he was convinced that the knowledge gained by the students would put them in better position to appreciate and effectively manage the multi-dimensional challenges that they were bond to face in their respective careers.

Brig Gen Boafo said that, the successful management of the emerging security environment required the combined efforts of the traditional security and law enforcement agencies at regional and international levels.

'Internally, we need the collaborative efforts of our society groups to be able to stem the tide of these emerging security threats,' he said.

Rear Admiral Seth Amoama, Commandant of the GAFCSC, conferred the 'JSC' qualification on the participants and presented them with certificates.

Lt (GN) Ruth Kyei-Ampomah of the Ghana Navy emerged as the overall best student of the course, whilst, Captain Chinedu Chikwe of the Armed Forces of Nigeria won the Best Allied Student.

Source: GNA