Kofi Ampeah Woode
2 Infantry Battalion (2Bn) lifted the ultimate trophy at Southern Command’s (S/COMD) Exercise Kullum Shirri ’23 – a 2-day energy-sapping field training exercise which tested endurance, mental toughness, knowledge in map reading, navigation, marksmanship, competitive spirit, Unit pride, and esprit d’corps among the Formation’s Units, and identified and selected the best to participate in EX EAGLE CLAWS ‘23.
Six (6) Units under Southern Command (S/COMD), namely; 1Bn, 2Bn, 5Bn, 66 Artillery Regiment (66 Arty Regt), 48 Engineer Regiment (48 Engr Regt), and S/COMD Headquarters Camp, each presented a Platoon with good representation of females, to compete from Thursday to Friday, 14-15 September, 2023, trekking over 14 Kilometers (Km) a day, with their rifles and luggage of not less than 15 Kilograms.
Ex Kullum Shirri ’23 commenced at Larteh Ahenease Methodist Mission School, where a team of experts acting as umpires, ensured that the troops carried the exact required kits, boosted their morale and set each Platoon off at various locations, with unique tasks that took them through mountains, valleys, and plains, with some teams not coming across a road, until they had cleared their 14Km.
Delivering his speech as the Guest of Honour on the final day, Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Deputy Chief of Staff (DCoS), Logistics, General Headquarters (GHQ) – Major General (Maj Gen) Joseph Prince Osei-Owusu, cited GAF’s Chief of the Army Staff’s (COAS) vision of producing a highly motivated, well-trained, and well-equipped Army, with quality Officers and Soldiers; to achieve the tasks set for the Army.
He continued to say that the set objectives by the Army Commander, cannot be achieved without troops undergoing vigorous training and competitions such as Ex Kullum Shirri, which largely elicits desired qualities, necessary to deal with existing and emerging threats.
He further cited Ghana’s current menace of illegal mining on and astride some major river bodies, especially in the southern part of the country, and the threats of violent extremist (VE) acts, which the General said, do not only threaten the existence of current generation, but also the survival of the ecosystem and the future of Ghana.
Maj Gen JP Osei-Owusu averred that the threats of terrorism from Sahelian Regions of West Africa, requires technical expertise and physical preparation, to deal with threats within and close to Ghana’s boundaries.
Being emphatic that it is only a non-existent military that does not train, he also said that the competition sends a clear message to the general populace, reassuring them that Ghana Army is ready and willing to respond efficiently and effectively, to any situation that has the propensity of disturbing the relative peace across Ghana.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), S/COMD – Maj Gen Michael Ayisi Amoah, reiterated to the troops, at the end of the contest that training is one of the cardinal pillars of the military profession, without which there cannot be skilled personnel, in their quest to achieve set targets and fulfilling constitutional obligations.
He emphasized that it is important that threat analysis are properly done, various scenarios developed from the analysis, and contingency plans mapped out, and trained with, to mitigate potential threats to Ghana, to be able to handle such situations that may arise.
The GOC said Ex Kullum Shirri ’23 tests the Formation’s level of readiness, taking into account trainings undertaken from the beginning of the year, adding that it is good the Army trains hard on the training ground, in order to have it easy on the battlefield.
“No soldier should see training as making one uncomfortable or as punishment. Our choosing a difficult terrain is to make you aware that threats might not come as easy as one may expect. In any case, no enemy group would select a city or an easy place to settle for soldiers to have easy access to them and clear them. They would always choose difficult terrain to make it difficult to access them”, General Ayisi Amoah surmised.
The various Platoons, after surviving the terrible terrain from the mountains of Larteh, Edukrom, Abonse, Assisieso, coming down through the plains of Luom to Asutsuare, through day and night, used under 20 minutes for every member of the Platoon to cross a distance of 1 kilometer, which is littered with 10 obstacles, under the keen supervision of Physical Training Instructors (PTIs), after which a Squad from the Platoon, took turns at the Ogyefo Gallery Range, Asutsuare Training Camp, for the marksmanship contest, with Weapon Training Instructors (WPIs).
At the range the Section did the rundown to set distances and were given 10 plates to fell, to which S/COMD HQ Camp fell 5 plates, 66 Arty Regt fell 2 plates, 5Bn fell 4, 48 Engr Regt fell 6, 2Bn fell 10 (with 9 firers), and 1Bn fell 3 plates.
Private (Pte) Gyan Mensah of S/COMD was adjudged the Best Female Individual Shot, and Pte Boakye Okyere Daniel of 48 Engr Regt was the Best Male Individual Shot.
Best Shooting Team went to 2Bn, Best in Navigation to 2Bn, Best in Obstacle Crossing to 48 Engr Regt, Best in Orders to 48 Engr Regt, 2nd Runners Up to 48 Engr Regt with 300.56 points, 5Bn were the 1st Runners Up with 307.26 points, and 2Bn with 358.05 points.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
