Kofi Ampeah Woode
The United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) Ghanaian Battalion (GHANBATT) 13 has held a ceremony to mark the end of their 7-week Pre-Deployment Training (PDT), at the UN- certified Army Peace Operations Training School (APOTS), Battle Training Camp (BTC), Bundase.
The PDT closing event otherwise termed the West Africa Soldiers Social Activities (WASSA) was held on Friday 13 June 2025, with the Commander, Army Training Command (ATRAC) – Brigadier General Joshua Amanor (who was represented by his Deputy – Colonel Prince Eric Tandoh) as the Guest of Honour.
The Commander stated how he had followed and monitored the training activities of UNMISS 13, and was convinced that the objective of the PDT of equipping the battalion with the requisite knowledge and skills for the tasks ahead, has been achieved.
He added that although the 7-week training of fruitful lectures and field practices, culminating in a final field training exercise was successful, it is not enough to arm them with everything that is to be known about their duties in the operational theatre, and thus, they should draw on their experiences from other peacekeeping missions, in executing their respective tasks.
He concluded by admonishing them to be each other’s keeper and work as a team, since “teamwork makes the dream work”.
APOTS was established 4 years ago, to organize and conduct peacekeeping training at the tactical level, for all personnel earmarked for deployment on international peacekeeping operations.
Since its establishment, a total of 8,339 personnel have been trained and deployed on various peace operations, out of which 1,066, representing 12.7% were females, hence female participation in peacekeeping in the Ghana Armed Forces is expected to continue to increase, especially with the recent launch of its Gender Policy.
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.
APOTS, by UN assessment, has successfully satisfied the criteria and standards, leading to the issuance of UN Training Recognition Certificate to the School in May 2023, thus making APOTS an important asset for training not only personnel of GAF, but also other personnel from the West African sub-region.
Present at the event included the Commander, APOTS – Col Reuben Dela Klutse; Deputy Commander, APOTS – Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Isaac Keelson Ekow Amoah; Commanding Officer, UNMISS GHANBATT 13 – Lt Col Edmund Teye Kojo Tekpetey; Senior Officers, Officers, Command Sergeant Major, ATRAC, Regimental Sergeant Majors, Soldiers and Defence Civilian Staff.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
