Kofi Ampeah Woode
Ghana Army’s Special Operations Training School (ASOTS) has held a Passing-Out Parade for six hundred and ninety-four (694) Recruits to be Young Soldiers, after twenty six weeks of intensive conversion through the Basic Infantry Training Course 1/2023 (BITC 1/23), from civilians to military personnel.
Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Errington Kojo Commey – Director General, Inspector General Department of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and the Reviewing Officer (RO) for the Passing-Out Parade on Friday 26 January, 2024, on the Oppong-Peprah Square at Daboya, cautioned the new Private (Pte) Soldiers to deem their present level, not only as rewarding, but also as an entry requirement which is merely the first hurdle.
He further stated that the military profession is a unique calling, demanding unparalleled physical fitness, discipline, mental resilience, robustness, and that as challenging as 7 months of initial training may have seemed for them, they have only scratched the surface of what it means to be a soldier in the Ghana Army, and are expected to build thereupon.
Brig Gen EK Commey cited ASOTS’ training regime of a comprehensive military curriculum that spans physical training, tactics, weapon training, drill, military law, map reading, field craft, first aid, liberal education, and more, under harsh weather conditions of Ghana’s north, which is characterized by intense heat for most part of the year.
He urged the new Soldiers to strive to overcome any weakness and continuously seek self-improvement, prepare for career courses and Annual Basic Fitness Tests ahead, take advantage of the GAF School of Education and enrol to better their academic grades, and to avail themselves to the wisdom of Officers, Warrant Officers, and Non-Commissioned Officers, as mentors.
Turning to GAF personnel present, he made a passionate plea to them to guide and mentor Young Soldiers, to impart experiential knowledge to the young ones, ensuring successful transfer of professional memory after every generation, in spite of the rigorous training handed to Recruits, as it is palpable that the military profession is more practical than theoretical (the basics of which Young Soldiers undergo).
The RO told the Young Soldiers that GAF has etched an indelible mark of honour and respect for itself, both on home soil and on the global stage, resulting from discipline, self-sacrifice, commitment, diligence, duty-bound dedication, courage, integrity, and utmost respect for the supremacy of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
He admonished them to steer clear of trouble to maintain discipline and professionalism at all times in GAF-dedicated operations such as; Operations CALM LIFE, HALT, GONGONG, COWLEG, MERCURY, CITADEL, CONQUERED FISTS, VANGUARD BACKUP, amongst many, and International Peace Support Operations, when they are nominated as participants, no matter the temptations.
The Passing-Out Parade, which is ASOTS’ fourth, witnessed 694 smartly dressed young men and women, out of a total of 705 recruits who reported to the school for training on Friday 28 July 2023, of which one – Recruit Zakari Awudu – lost his life, and ten other recruits were released on administrative and disciplinary grounds.
A high point in the parade was when the contingents with their Drill skills, formed the alphabets TOP and DNA, connoting the initials in the names of the newly appointed Chief of the Defence Staff of GAF – Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, and the Commanding Officer, ASOTS – Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Nii Armah Quaye, respectively.
At the Awards; Pte Kugbeadzor Evans won the OVERALL BEST RECRUIT; Pte Honu Augusta won BEST IN ACADEMICS; Pte Afreh Faith won EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS IN DRILL; Pte Azure Deborah Abangwini won OVERALL BEST FEMALE; Pte Wamol Manampe Moses won OVERALL BEST IN PHYSICAL TRAINING; and Kamina Company won BEST COMPANY.
Personages present included the Base Commander, Air Force Base, Tamale – Air Commodore Joshua Mensah-Larkai; Principal Staff Officers of Army Head Quarters (HQ), Burma Camp, Northern Command HQ, Army Training Command HQ; Senior Military Officers, Commanding Officers, Officers, Formation and Unit Sergeant Majors, Staff and Instructors of ASOTS, family and friends of the new Soldiers.
