The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division, Nigerian Army, Major-General Abdulsalam Abubakar, on Wednesday, stressed the importance of training in enhancing military operations and tackling insecurity in the country.
Major-General Abubakar said this at the opening ceremony of the 3 Division Inter- Brigade Formations Combat Proficiency Competition 2023, in Bauchi.
According to him, continuous training of officers goes far beyond checking off a to-do task of army, but a way to develop skills and knowledge to tackle insecurity.
The GOC said the competition was organised to train officers in performing constitutional roles.
He said, “Training is the cardinal pillar of the Chief of Army Staff’s (COAS) command philosophy, which is to transform the Nigerian Army into a well trained, equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment.
“Nigeria is currently bedeviled by a myriad of security challenges, that include insurgency, kidnapping, militancy, armed robbery, among others.
“To address these challenges, the armed forces have continued to upscale its training and military exercise. One of such areas of training is the conduct of this combat proficiency competition.”
Major-General Abubakar said the competition was intended to sharpen the skills and competence of junior leadership in 3 division in line with army headquarter’s training directive for the year 2023.
He said, “The competition would develop a spirit of competition, cooperation and teamwork.”
The military top brass was represented by Brigadier-Geneneral Emmanuel Egbe, Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Bauchi, who urged the participants to engage in healthy competition during the week-long training.
Contributing, Major-General Mohammed Ahmed, Commander, Army Armored Corps, advised the participants to pay attention to the training.
He also asked them to put in their best and shun cheating during the competition.
Major-General Ahmed also told the arbitrators of the competition to be fair in judging the participants’ competition.
The competition is a five-day affair, drawing participants from formations under 3 division including 6 Brigade, 23 brigade , 33 brigade, 43 Engineers and 3 division garrison respectively.
