Kofi Ampeah Woode
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Ghanaian Battalion 91 (GHANBATT 91) has completed its 10-week Mission Leadership, and Military Skills Validation Trainings, to equip the troops with requisite knowledge and skills for their tasks ahead in the mission area, and has climaxed it with an End of Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) Parade.
The End of PDT Parade was held at the UN-acclaimed Army Peace Operations Training School (APOTS), Battle Training Camp (BTC), Bundase, in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana, on Friday 9 August 2024, and had the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Southern Command (S/COMD) – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Samuel Yeboah Yaw Asare, as the Reviewing Officer (RO).
Addressing troops at the parade, Brig Gen SYY Asare spoke of the fruitful lectures and field practices conducted for the GHANBATT during the PDT, which eventually culminated in a successful Final Field Training Exercise (FFTX), which was codenamed EX TIZOM YAABA.
He said Ghana’s APOTS – established to plan, organize and conduct UN-standardized peacekeeping training at the tactical level for all personnel earmarked for deployment on international peace support operations (PSO) – has become an important sub-regional asset for training, not only for personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), but also for other personnel from the West African sub-region, after the issuance of UN Training Recognition Certificate to the School, in a space of 3 years.
General Asare stated further that contemporary peace operations have evolved to the extent that, Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) are required by the UN, to meet certain criteria and standards of training, before being inserted into any theatre of operation, for which reason, Ghana’s Military High Command is determined to further provide APOTS with the necessary infrastructure for their accommodation and comfort during training.
Presenting an overview of the UNIFIL GHANBATT 91 PDT, the Commander, APOTS (CAPOTS) – Colonel (Col) Clement Kojo Dingane stated that the UN-Certified APOTS is ready to provide same training to other countries in the sub-region.
He stated that UNIFIL GHANBATT 91, with a female strength of 18.3%, underwent a 3-week Mission Leadership Training/Foundational Engagement Teams Course organized in collaboration with the British Peace Support Team Africa for its Key Appointment Holders, and additionally had 7-weeks of Military Skill Validation Training for the whole Unit, from 24 June to 9 August 2024, at the BTC, Bundase.
Topics treated, he stated, included: a) Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, b) Negotiation and Mediation in Hostile Terrain, c) Crowd Management/Dispersal, d) Cordon and Search Operations, e) Key and Vulnerable Points, f) Key Leadership Engagement Techniques, g) Leadership in Peace Support Operations, h) Rules of Engagement; i) Raid/Rescue Operations; j) Protection of Civilians; k) Psychological Operations; l) Standardized Tactical Incident Reaction; m) VIP Escort; n) CIMIC etc.
To ensure participants derive full benefit of the package, training sessions were made highly interactive to allow sharing of experiences and brainstorming on exercise-based scenarios, table-top exercises, Operational Orders/Briefings and FTXs during the training, which culminated in a Command Post Exercise conducted for the Military Leadership Training, and a final FTX for the Military Skills Validation Training, Col Dingane added.
He said since the establishment of APOTS, a total of 6,852 personnel have been trained and deployed on various peace operations, out of which 853 (13.4%) are females, and thus forecasted that female participation in peacekeeping will continue to increase in GAF, due to the recent launch of the Ghana Armed Forces Gender Policy.
Col Dingane acknowledged the enormous support in the form of infrastructure, guidance and encouragement provided to the School by Ghana’s Military High Command, and cited Brig Gen SYY Asare for high mention, for his enormous support to ensure that APOTS gained the UN accreditation, when he was Defence Attaché to Ghana’s UN Mission in New York.
Events climaxed with a West Africa Soldiers Social Activities (WASSA) at which the GOC, who was the Guest of Honour at the fun-filled function, admonished the troops concerning the mission proper that; their professionalism and dedication to duty can only be acknowledged if they implement what they have been taught during their PDT.
He added that since the 7 weeks training is in no way enough to arm them with everything that is to be known about their duties in the operational theatre, they have to draw on their experiences from other peacekeeping missions, in executing their respective tasks.
Brig Gen Asare reminded them that Ghana’s Military High Command attaches great importance to their role, and will continue to provide them with the necessary support, for a successful execution of their mandate in UNIFIL.
He charged them not to do what would bring dishonour to their persons, the GHANBATT, the Ghana Armed Forces, or country, but be each other’s keeper, and work as a team, for “teamwork makes the dream work”, quoting Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong-Peprah – Chief of the Defence Staff, GAF.
Dignitaries present at the event included Commander, Army Training Command – Brig Gen Stephen Woseadzikpo Kweku Parbey; Director, Electrical Mechanical Engineers – Col Henry Kwesi Nditsi; Col L Owusu; Commanding Officer (CO), UNIFIL GHANBATT 91 – Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Isaac Kobe Boako; Acting Chief Instructor, APOTS – Lt Col Augustin Assibuor; Director, Technical Centre, Ghana Football Association, Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence – Madam Winifred Mawu Deku; Officers, Regimental Sergeant Majors of APOTS and UNIFIL GHANBATT 91, Instructors, and a team from GCB Bank Limited.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
