Defence, Security
THE Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has charged newly graduated recruits of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Basic Military Training Course 41/2020, to be innovative.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore, Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a statement on Friday, in Abuja.
Gabkwet stated that the CAS gave the charge while reviewing the colorful Passing Out Parade (POP) of the 1,031 trainees, at the Military Training Centre (MTC), NAF Base, Kaduna.
The CAS noted that the occasion was another testimony of the commitment of NAF to operate a professional service that was properly structured, appropriately manned and adequately trained, to provide security to Nigeria and its people.
According to Amao, the graduation of yet another batch of recruits was in consonance with NAF’s overall strategy of mitigating the challenges of insecurity in the country.
He noted that the six months rigorous training they were exposed to was deliberately designed to expose them to near real-life scenarios, which they might encounter in the course of their careers.
Amao urged them to ensure they operated within the ambit of the law and rules of engagement, as outlined in the code of conduct for military personnel engaged in internal security operations.
This, he said, had become imperative since they would be involved in several operations across the country.
He also reminded them of the need to respect and protect the innocent and law-abiding civilians, who they were paid to defend.
“Treat them with respect and protect their rights. It is by so doing that you will be discharging your professional and constitutional duties.
“I urged you to submit yourselves to civil authority, in accordance with democratic tenets, and should not allow yourselves to be used by any subversive elements in the society to compromise national security”, Amao said.
The CAS expressed profound gratitude of the service to President Muhammadu Buhari, for his continued support to NAF to meet its operational requirements, as well as its logistics needs.
Amao assured Nigerians that NAF, in conjunction with other members of the Armed Forces and security agencies, would continue to do all that it takes to ensure that the security challenges in the country were speedily brought to an end.
He disclosed that NAF was expecting eight aircraft in July, comprising six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the U.S. and two Wing Loong Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) from China.
“The remaining six A-29 Super Tucano will arrive in September, while two CH-3 and 4 CH-4 UCAV will also arrive in the country before the end of the year.
These additional aircraft, he said, would no doubt boost NAF’s air power employment capabilities in support of joint operations and would be a game changer in various theatres of operations. (NAN)
June 5, 2021 @ 12:49 GMT
Tags: CAS tasks newly graduated NAF recruits on innovation Professionalism
