By Saio Marrah
After three months of intensive training, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) has officially certified three military officers and 33 other ranks as members of an elite Forces Reconnaissance Unit (FRU) within RSLAF known also as Special Forces.
54 RSLAF personnel were selected for the training but only 36 in all made it through the rigorous training regime.
Chief of Staff, Joint Force Command, Air Commodore John A.S. Gbondo, in addressing the soldiers at the graduation ceremony in Lungi, on Friday 3rd February, reminded them about the security challenges of the 21st century such as terrorism, pandemic, illegal migration, and drug trafficking.
The world over, he said, is faced with one common enemy, terrorism or violent extremism and called on the graduands named Cadre 20 to be role models in critical moments in mitigating any of the highlighted threats.
According to him, the level of training they had undergone cannot be compared to any violence by non-state actors.
He said the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is therefore expecting them to be that force to beat any potential extremist or other criminal elements that may want to disturb the peace and security of Sierra Leone, as they have acquired far more superior knowledge, attitude and skills than their adversaries.
He said the RSLAF need a special force that is fit for purpose in the multi-dimensional security environment to address internal and external insecurity, a force that is capable in meeting the current operational requirement and at the same time be able to meet other strategic means like peace operations.
Gondo warned them to be mindful that there is no room for indiscipline in RSLAF.
The officer said the graduation should be a pointer that they have a huge task ahead leading the RSLAF formations and units in peace and in war.
He said more is expected of them during their deployment to put into practice what they had learnt once they are on operations and that any act of fear is forbidden as they have been trained to meet the challenges of managing the security environment.
Commodore Gbondo decorated two of the three military officers after they were promoted from second lieutenant to full lieutenant and that the commanding officer of the reconnaissance unit is working relentlessly in ensuring the promotion of all the other 33 private soldiers to the rank of lance corporal.
The Commander of the unit, Lieutenant -Colonel Moses Oliver Gordon, described the graduation ceremony as a great move to have the personnel make it through including one female.
He said the training was extremely rigorous, highly selective and covered three extensive phases.
He said the stress and sleeplessness aspect of the training was to bring out their true character and that they were not meant to break down easily, but to mould and refine them into what they intended to become as RSLAF Special Forces.
In his congratulatory message, he singled out the only female of the gradaunds, private Nabieu Alima, for her resilience and courage to serve as part of RSLAF’s special forces.
He told the soldiers that they will be judged by how they maintain and improve on the forces’ existing standards as they were selected and trained to achieve higher standards than the normal infantry soldiers.
The training officer, Lieutenant Desmond Koroma, said becoming a unit member is challenging and demanding both mentally and physically and forms the basis of the hard-earned reputation of FRU since its establishment.
The course he said has recently been re-modelled towards the Special Forces standard and to intelligently respond to the divergent levels of modern day’s operational environment.
Koroma pointed out that “the course has also been able to develop these Recces to a man or woman of exemplary character, devoted in leading Recces 24/7, able to decide, communicate, and act in the fog of war, a war fighter who embraces the corps warrior ethos of mentally and physically tough Recces.”
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (06/02/23)
