Thirty-Nine Officers from West Africa, made up of 19  from the Ghana, Seven form Nigeria, Four  from Sierra Leone, three from Rwanda, two each from  Senegal and Togo and one each from Cote d’Ivoire and the Gambia yesterday passed out from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College(GAFCSC).

Speaking at the 21st graduation ceremony in Accra, the Vice President of Ghana, John Mahama Dramani, said the Government is committed to make the GAFCSC the best Institution and centre of excellence in the country.

He made known that the GAFCSC was established in 1976 with the assistance of the British and Canadian Military Assistance and Training Teams.

Upon the withdrawal of the Canadians, he said, the British re-organised into the British Military Advisory and Training Team and continued to provide uninterrupted technical and logistics support to the GAFCSC.

He noted that the College gained accreditation as a Tertiary Institution from the National Accreditation Board effective 1st April this year.

The Vice President lauded GAFCSC for the tremendous support given, its commitment and determination to the militaries and the nation, in building a better Ghana.

The Vice President also broke ground to mark the beginning of the construction of an academic block and auditorium complex being undertaken by the GETFund as part of the ceremony.

Major General K. Yankson, the Commandant of GAFSCS, disclosed that the college has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) for the award of a post-Graduate Diploma in Defence and Conflict Studies.

This, he said means, students who complete the regular Command and Staff course successfully will be awarded a Post-Graduate Diploma in Defence and Conflict Studies in addition to the “PSC”.

He said the college in conjunction with the GAFCSC, JAJI-Nigeria, the Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the ECOWAS commission, organised an ECOWAS combined and Joint African Exercise in Integrated Peace Support Operations on behalf of the ECOWAS commission in June this year.

He explained that the combined and Joint African Exercise is an initiative of the African Conference of Commandants to integrate peace support concepts and operation procedueres in line with the African Union Peace Support Doctrine.

He cautioned the Grandaunts to bear in mind in their various fields of endeavour that the interest of their country should be paramount, irrespective of the goals that they may set for themselves.

The Major General  hoped that they will live up to the expectation  of the college’s motto “ALITE FLAMMAN” which enjoins  them  to let  their light shine  at all times in the  display of discipline  and hoped that they will continue  to defend  the ethics of the profession.

Source : ISD (Antoinette Mintah)

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