Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Lions have a new “King” at Ghana Army’s 5 Infantry Battalion (5Bn) in the person of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Kwame Owusu-Afriyie, after Colonel (Col) Prince Eric Yaw Tandoh completed his term of Command as Commanding Officer (CO).
A handing/taking over ceremony was held at the 5Bn Square, Burma Camp, Accra, on Thursday 9 November, supervised by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Southern Command (S/COMD) – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Samuel Yeboah Asare.
Col PEY Tandoh, whose tenure commenced on 17 July 2020, was adjudged by his GOC – General Asare, as having a selfless style of leadership which is worthy of emulation, a genuine dedication to the welfare of his personnel, and ensured a marked improvement in their living and working conditions, through the completion of numerous impactful projects.
He continued that Col Tandoh’s command was very reliable, as Headquarters (HQ) S/COMD was always confident of 5Bn’s capabilities in well executed fashion, sometimes at very short notice, and that his contributions towards the improvement of training, administration, logistics has been nothing short of exemplary.
The outgone CO, who in an address read the vision with which he led the ‘Pink Five’ or ‘Lions’ – as 5Bn is affectionately called – said he led with a view of building a united battalion, dependable and operationally excellent, with mission accomplishment as its top priority, in line with higher Command’s vision, and core values of troops’ welfare, human centeredness, mutual respect, developing leaders, training and professionalism in appearance and conduct.
On the operational front, 5Bn, which oversees Ghana’s Greater Accra, Central and parts of the Eastern Region, performed all assigned tasks, some of the operations (Op) being PEACE TRAIL, CITADEL, HALT I, BOAFO, OASIS, HALT II, CALM LIFE, SAFE, ENHANCED CALM LIFE, CONQUERED FIST, MOTHERLAND, helping to reduce the menace of armed robbery and land guard activities.
Memorable moments during Col Tandoh’s tenure included 5bn taking 1st Position during EX MARCH & SHOOT 2022 and 2nd positions during the 2021 and 2023 versions of the Competition, organized by S/COMD.
Some of the projects completed under Col Tandoh include: 1) Construction of a 13 single-room self-contained accommodation unit for Young Officers, 2) Regimental Sergeant Major’s (RSM) accommodation, 3) Renovation of 7 Dormitories to serve as accommodation for Young Soldiers, 4) Construction of a Washing Bay, 5) Acquisition of Water Machine for Cool Springs Water Factory.
Additionally, there were 6) Re-grassing of Battalion HQ Lawn, 7) Renovation and furnishing of Battalion HQ, Companies and Departmental offices, 8) Renovation of Defence Civilian Staff office, 9) Construction and furnishing of a new conference hall, 10) Restaurant Project 11) Dining Hall Project, 12) 7 pick-up vehicles for Unit operations, 13) Renovation of Officers’ Coffee Room and Kitchen.
Moreover, there were 14) Renovation of the Warrant Officers/Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Mess, 15) Acquisition of two food steamers for the Cook House, 16) Construction of a Block Factory, 17) Painting of buildings and roofing within the Unit, Renovation of 18) Unit Quarter Guard, 19) Quarter Master Yard, 20) Armoury, 21) MT Yard, and 22) Unit Magazine.
23) Provision of mowers and slashers to improve scenery of the Unit, 24) installation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras within the Unit, 25) installation of Public Address System within the barracks to help in activation of alarm schemes and passages of other important information to troops, 26) Construction of an automated gate at the Unit Quarter guard.
Then, 27) Signage at various points (Recce Junction and Unit Frontage) including a new Alert Status sign, 28) Provision of street lights within Arakan Barracks, 29) Procurement of musical instruments for the Pink Five and Regimental Bands, 30) Provision of 100 bunk beds and mattresses for Young Soldiers, Sewing of leather material for over 200 mattresses, 31) Sinking of 6 boreholes within the Arakan Barracks for potable water.
32) Provision of a water reservoir for the Barracks, 33) Extensive sewage works repairs at the Arakan Barracks, 34) Renovation of the Arakan Officers’ Mess, 35) Construction of a new cook house, 36) Renovation of the monument at Battle Training Camp (BTC), 37) Christmas hamper for all Officers, Soldiers and Defence Civilian Staff, 38) Renovation of the orderly room.
Also, 39) Construction of monument at Battalion Headquarters, 40) Expansion of Unit Poultry Farm, 41) Revamping of collapsed Unit Piggery, 42) Purchase of Air conditioners and Television sets for Offices and Messes in the Unit, 43) Support in the opening of the first ever Counselling and family centre in the Ghana Armed Forces, 44) donation of wood, chippings, air-conditioners, computers etc, as assistance to sister units.
45) Construction of a 120 Single-room self-contained 3-storey accommodation for Young Soldiers, and 46) Construction of 2 bedrooms, 3-storey 16 units accommodation for Unit Officers, in the past 3 years, 4 months, as the Lion-Hene (Lion King), and moves on as a Director at the Ghana Army HQ.
Guests present at the occasion included the Greater Accra Regional Minister – Henry Quartey, Brig Gen Winfred Hedidor-Dzandu, Brig Gen OJ Ampadu, Commander, Army Special Operations Brigade – Brig Gen Isaac Paintsil: Commander, 15 Armoured Brigade – Brig Gen Ben Gah; Past Lion Henes, Members of the Greater Accra Regional Security Council, Senior Officers, Officers, RSMs, Warrant Officers, SNCOs, Defence Civilian Staff, Magajias, families and friends.
