Ghana Peace
The Junior Division (JD) of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) has graduated 76 students/Officers drawn from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), and the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF), for its Junior Staff Course ‘jsc’ 83.
The graduation ceremony took place at the Hamidu Hall, Otu Barracks, GAFCSC, Teshie, on Friday 20 June 2025, with Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Michael Akpatsu Jnr (Rtd) as the Guest of Honour, supported by the Acting Commandant, GAFCSC – Brig Gen Jackson Wonje.
The graduating class of Junior Staff Course 83 of 76 students/Officers, which assembled in January 2025, is made up of 8 Officers from the BDF, the AFL, the NAF – as allied African armed forces – and 67 Officers from GAF, including 1 Defence Civilian Staff.
GAFCSC’s Junior Staff Course trains middle-career Officers – Captains and Majors (Lieutenants and Lieutenant Commanders for the Navy, Flight Lieutenants and Squadron Leaders for the Air Force), and other security services, civilians, and allied armed forces, preparing them for command, staff, and leadership roles, including joint, combined, and multi-agency tasks at the tactical level.
The Course is designed to enhance junior officers’ leadership, analytical, and communication skills for command and staff functions through an integrated military and academic programme, focused on staff work techniques and the structure and roles of the military.
It also trains Officers on sub-Unit to Formation-level management; domestic and international affairs, command, leadership and management, as well as fundamental logistics processes, and further aims at the physical, social and spiritual development of students.
Integrated into the ‘jsc’ mandate is the Post Graduate Diploma in Defence and Security Studies, which provides a comprehensive insight into the application of basic tactics, operational staff work, service writing, operations of war, and other key staff-related disciplines.
This unique qualification blends modern security and defence studies with the foundational principles of military history, science and art, which helps develop broad transferable critical thinking skills.
The training program included a study tour of Ghana’s Bono Ahafo Region, and a two-week Internal Security and Counter Security course, with the collaboration of some other Ghanaian security services, such as the Police, Prisons, Immigration, Fire Service, and Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Brig Gen M Akpatsu Jnr (Rtd), in his keynote address, said that the course broadened participants’ professional and general outlook on matters of both national and international interest, through a combination of lectures, sitting room discussions and seminars, by competent lecturers from GAF, a couple of universities, some state security agencies.
Citing global threats to peace and security, such as instability through terrorism, ethnic and religious disputes, natural, environmental and human-induced disasters, he urged the Officers to apply the knowledge acquired, to constantly strive to arrive at a clearer understanding of what it takes to contain any of these threats.
At the Awards:
For the leadership case study presentations, GROUP 1 was assessed the best, following their research and presentation on Rear Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro (Rtd) – former Chief of the Naval Staff, Ghana Navy.
Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr) Karl Atsu Olagboye won the EVERARD Award – most effective contributions to lectures, seminars and discussions; Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Paul N Onu won the 3rd BEST for the Assistant Commandant (ASCOM) Research Paper Competition Prize – focus on military, socio-political, economic, and geostrategic issues.
Major Egan Gbekle – a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology – won 2nd BEST for the ASCOM Contest; Flt Lt Kafayat Omolara Sanni – Nigerian Air Force’s first Female Fighter Pilot and the first Female Destructor Pilot – won the BEST Award for the ASCOM Research Paper, Best Allied Student Award.
Captain G Boakye won the OVERALL 3rd BEST Student in Order of Merit; Captain Peter Kojo Dawaye – an Infantry Special Force Officer – won the OVERALL 2nd BEST Student; and Captain Timothy Kojima Oklu won the OVERALL BEST Student – student who excelled in all aspects of the course and showcased dazzling academic prowess, as well as leadership acumen.
Besides families and friends of the graduates, other dignitaries present at the event included the President, Ghana’s National Defence University – Air Vice Marshal Felix Adom Asante (PhD); ASCOM, Senior Division, GAFCSC – Brig Gen Roland Kwao-Adotey; ASCOM, Junior Division – Brig Gen Kwesi Ayima, Senior Officers from the Service Headquarters, and High Commission of Nigeria and Embassy of Liberia in Ghana.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
