Army Prepares For Insurgencies

A major military exercise by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to adequately prepare the service personnel to deal with any insurgency in the country is underway in the Achiase forest reserve of the Birim South District.

The four day exercise, code-named Exercise Tiger’s Path, is aimed at testing a platoon-size sub unit of the Navy, the Air Force, Northern and Southern Command as well as the Support Service Brigade Group in jungle operation on a competitive basis.

Twelve officers and 116 men and women of the GAF as well as six observers from the Nigeria Armed Forces are involved in the exercise.

Performing the opening ceremony, Major-Geneneral A.K. Abdullai, Commandant of the Military Academy and Training Schools, noted that dissidents and non-conformists in the society, over the years, have utilised their mastery of the jungle to destabilize the government and carry out atrocities against the citizenry.

"It is therefore vital for the GAF, which has a sizeable forest terrain to be masters of the jungle if it is to preserve the hard won freedom and independence we are presently enjoying," he said.

"The Armed Forces, is by this exercise also serving notice to would be detractors that they are poised to defeat any insurgency in any part of Ghana irrespective of the terrain", he added.

Major- Gen Abdul-lai said the exercise, the seventh in the series would also enhance the professional capabilities of Ghanaian peacekeepers engaged in peace support operations to forestal countries worldwide against hardened rebel factions who operate in the jungle.

He explained that, the presence of the Nigeria officers was to ensure a common doctrine and enhance inter-operability in regional peace support operations.

Throwing more light on the exercise, he said it is aimed at accomplishing its objectives of battle procedure, first aid, platoon administration in the jungle, obstacle crossing, jungle navigation as well as vectoring and marshalling of aircraft for air medical evacuation.

Major-Gen Abdullai urged the troops to conduct themselves as true sportsmen and to be guided by the virtues of determination, team spirit and the instinct of jungle survival.

Lt-Col Robert Nyaka, Commanding Officer of the Jungle Warfare School, said for the GAF to effectively perform its constitutional mandate, its members should be adequately trained.

"There is therefore the need to acquire training and exercises from time to time to freshen up our troops in all skills and crafts to our calling," he said