One hundred and seventy two (172) junior commanders of the rank of Captain and their equivalent in the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force have graduated from the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji after a 21 weeks intensive training.
The course comprising 91 Nigerian Army, 39 Nigerian Navy, 28 Nigerian Air Force, five non military personnel from the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and nine international students from Botswana, Cameron, Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone assembled for the 21 weeks training on 4th January, 2017.
Speaking at the graduation of Junior Course 83/2017 on Friday, the Chief of Air Staff who was the guest of honour said the objective of the course is to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of selected officers of the armed forces in order to prepare them for increasing responsibilities.
The CAS, represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Headquarters, NAF, Air Vice Marshal James Gbum said, "For the past 21 weeks, you have been thoroughly subjected to various demanding tasks that exposed you to several presentations, lectures, discussions, exercises and even tours outside the college which have been carefully put together for you to imbibe what General Douglas MacAuthur, a former Chief of Staff of the United States Army called ‘The Cardinal Virtues of a Soldier’.
"I am aware that the junior course curriculum is structured to lay a solid foundation for the senior course and is continually reviewed to keep in tune with current developments in the world. The manoeuverist approach to warfare, peace support operations, counter-terrorism and disaster management are intended to prepare you to be able to operate effectively as Grade 3 staff officers and junior commanders in your respective Services."
He added, "For members of the Nigerian armed forces, your sense of judgement in applying these skills would even be more apparent now that we are confronting a lot of internal security challenges in the country, mist especially the menace of Book Haram and the renewed militancy in the Nigerian Delta."
He urged them to brace up to the likely challenges and measure up to them with courage, conviction and in the mist professional manner.
The commandant of the college, Air Vice Marshal Suleiman Dambo said the course is aimed at developing the command, analytical and communication skills of the students in order to equip them to effectively operate during single a service, combined or joint and multi-agency operations.
He added, "There had not been a comprehensive review of the college curriculum since 2002, hence the college embarked on a comprehensive review from 2016 to January, 2017 which has since been completed and provisional approval has been granted by defence headquarters.
"It is envisaged that the new curricula will better equip future graduates of the college with requisite professional military knowledge as well as the command and staff sills to handle contemporary operational requirements not only in Nigeria, but anywhere in the world."
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