Kofi Ampeah Woode
A Flagging-Off ceremony was held by the Ghana Navy, to commence a historic and symbolic voyage by Ghana’s military, to explore the nation’s tourism potential of traveling to the Centre of the Globe, culminating in an amphibious exercise involving the Army Special Operations Brigade (ASOB) the Ghana Navy Special Boat Squadron (SBS) and the Ghana Air Force Fighter Squadron.
The setting sail ceremony was at the Clinker Jetty, Tema Port, on Tuesday 19 March 2024, with the Guest of Honour and the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) – Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Thomas Oppong-Peprah flagging-off three vessels, with the support of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) – Rear Admiral (R/Adm) Issah Adam Yakubu.
The voyage (which appeared a show-of-force for the optics) and its associated events was codenamed EXERCISE SEALION 2024, and had River-Class Ghana Navy Ships (GNS) ANKOBRA, VOLTA, set sail along with a United States Navy supply vessel USS HERSHEL WOODEY WILLIAMS.
Prior to flagging-off the vessels for the mission, the CDS said the voyage was not mere rhetoric, for the Longitude 0ᵒ also known as the “Greenwich Meridian” passes through Ghana at the port city of Tema, whiles the Latitude 0ᵒ (the Equator) runs through the south of Ghana, the two intersecting at a peculiar point in the Gulf of Guinea closest to Ghana than any other country on the globe, thus making wondrous Ghana the country closest to the Centre of the Earth.
Setting the objectives of the exercise, General Oppong-Peprah said EX SEALION ’24 – whose maiden edition was in 2020 but only as far as the Equator – is to test the endurance and combat readiness of selected Ghana Navy Ships, train personnel in manoeuvres, conduct the ceremony of “Crossing The Line”, and showcase Ghana as closest to the Centre of the Earth, to unearth and harness tourism potential.
The CDS continued to say that conducting a joint exercise involving the three services of GAF was to enhance interoperability: exercising GN’s SBS in counterterrorism, hostage rescue operations, and training personnel of ASOB in Amphibious Landing Operations.
General Oppong-Peprah, therefore, called for prospective investors to collaborate with the Ghana Navy and the Ghana Tourism Authority, to make good use of the new tourism potential, which he said adventure seekers across the globe, cannot wait to visit Ghana to undertake the ‘voyage to the Centre of the Earth’.
Speaking to the Naval traditions of ‘Crossing the Line’, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command (ENC) – Commodore (Cdre) Maxwell Arhen said, military customs and traditions have long been an integral part of the GAF, now properly supervised and have become effective leadership tools to instill esprit de corps, unit cohesion and respect for accomplishment of one another.
He said whereas most ceremonies commensurate the many selfless feats of bravery of military men and women, they also commemorate significant events.
Present at the event included the United States Ambassador to Ghana; General Officer Commanding, Southern Command – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Samuel Yeboah Asare; Director-General, Training, GAF – Brig Gen Winfred Dzandu-Heddidor; Deputy Chief of Staff, GAF – Cdre Faustina Anokye; FOC, Naval Training Command – Cdre Solomon Asiedu-Larbi; and the Director, Tema Port Security – Colonel Benjamin Boamah, Defence Attaches of the United States, Chinese, Nigerian, South African Embassies.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
