Kofi Ampeah Woode
Ghana Army’s Artillery Training School (ATRS) has received a cash donation of Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC 50,000) from the Ghana Artillery Officers Association (GAOA) to support the construction of a 50-seater squad shed for students of the School.
The donation by the retired Officers took place on Wednesday 1 November 2023, at the School’s premises in the Ho Municipality – a school which was operationalized in 2018, and assigned to occupy premises of the former 1st Border Guard Battalion between Akoefe and Tanyigbe in 2020.
Since then, the Military High Command has renovated most of the existing structures in the Camp, thereby providing the School with some facilities for training, and even though the renovated facilities have improved training tremendously, the limited size of the classroom has restricted the ability of the School to enroll many students at a time.
Apart from the size, the co-location of classrooms and administrative spaces have presented unique challenges to teaching and learning in the School.
Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Stephen Woseadzikpo Kweku Parbey – Commander, Army Training Command (CATRAC), who represented the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) at the function expressed his appreciation on behalf of the COAS.
The COAS also assured that the entirety of the School has his support, for the School remains very high on his agenda and that he would follow through and address the School’s challenges within the available resources and constraints.
The COAS said this kind gesture of the GAOA is a historic one and should be appreciated and applauded within the context that a significant membership of the Association have served the Army and this country well, and are on retirement, yet their love for the Army is not on retirement.
The COAS urged all to draw inspiration from the selflessness of the Association and contribute every quota, no matter how small or little, to advance such noble causes in the Service. He also advised that those to be placed in charge of the project should be fully committed to seeing to its successful completion on schedule.
The Commanding Officer (CO) of the Artillery Training School, Lt Col Patrick Atuiri, indicated in his opening remarks during the presentation event that, while the military high command continues to explore avenues to provide additional sizable ultra-modern facilities at the Camp, the School also explored ways of contributing to enhance classroom capacity in the interim.
The desire for interim solutions birthed the idea of putting up a 50-seater squad shed with an office and a storeroom.
The CO continued that, they accordingly appealed for voluntary contributions from personnel within the 7 Garrison, colleagues, friends and organizations, including the GAOA, and that he was happy the Association embraced the concept and actively raised funds to support this initiative.
In his speech, the Guest of Honour, who is also the president of the GAOA, Maj Gen Nii Carl Coleman (Rtd), indicated that the bond that exists within the artillery fraternity is a bond forged through shared experiences, the pursuit of excellence, and a deep commitment to the defence of the nation.
He continued that as an association, they understand the importance of the Artillery Training School in shaping and nurturing the skills and capabilities of artillery personnel.
According to the GAOA President, the Association recognizes that the cost of constructing such a squad shed is substantial, but the GAOA firmly believes that investment in training is one that yields immeasurable returns.
They recognize the importance of providing the future generations with the resources they need to build a stronger and more resilient defence system, and it is in that spirit that they pledged their unwavering commitment to this project. He commended all members of the GAOA, military friends of the Association, and the three Service Headquarters, for making handsome contributions to the Association towards the donated amount of GHC 50,000.
The GLICO Group Limited received special mention for their overwhelming donation of GHC 62,240 to the Association to support the construction of the Squad Shed Project, indicating that the donation by the GLICO Group Limited, would now make it possible, to include certain features to upgrade the project, from a mere open-air Squad Shed to a Lecture Hall with ablution facilities, which were hitherto not considered.
He extolled the kind gesture by the GLICO Group Limited which demonstrates their continued commitment to the growth and development of the Armed Forces, and further mentioned that, additional funds will be released in tranches, as the work progresses to its successful completion.
Maj Gen Nii Carl Coleman (Rtd) concluded by calling upon the guests, community members, and other organizations to join hands with them in supporting this noble cause.
Credit: 7 GAR PR DET
