The Ghana Army has been highly commended for its significant cooperation with the civilian counterparts, but has been urged to cautiously work hard at doing more in that respect.
The commendation came from Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Kwame Otchere-Oppong (rtd), who was the guest-of-honour at the 2018 West African Soldier Social Activities (WASSA), which the Army Headquarters (Army HQ) as a unit, held on Friday, 25th January, 2019, at Burma Camp, Accra.
The retired General also praised the Army for internally cooperating with the civilian police to ensure peace in the country, in the organization of the referenda for six new regions for the country, and in conflict areas such as Dagbon, Chereponi, in the North and Alavanyo in the Volta region.
General Otchere-Oppong (rtd) referred to the performance of the Army as sterling, as it guaranteed a stable national environment, which in turn generated a congenial atmosphere for national peace and development.
Presenting a summary account of what Ghana Army had been involved in for the past one year, the Chief Staff Officer (CSO) at Army HQ, Brig Gen Amoah Ayisi cited a few operations that the Army had undertaken such as Operations Calm Life, Halt, Sit-Down-Look, Wowo-Star, Vanguard, Cowleg, Gong-gong, etc.
The Army has additionally maintained participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Lebanon, Western Sahara, Central African Republic, South Sudan and The Gambia.
On developmental works, General Amoah Ayisi mentioned the refurbishment and equipping of an international standard Operations Room at Army HQ, the steady progress of the construction of the Army HQ new office block, which is about 85% complete.
He also said that the Army Recruits Training School (ARTS) has seen some modest improvement with some infrastructural projects, three new classroom blocks have been built and, the school’s headquarters block also been renovated.
A satchet water producing factory has also been installed as well as a car washing bay been set up at the Army HQ, to help generate much needed revenue, so has a medical aid post been built to attend to minor medical needs of service personnel and Civilian Employees,
The CSO however urged the government to continue with the quest to making ARTS a first class training school in the country.
He further urged all formations and Commands under the Army as a Service, to continue with their unalloyed dedication and commitment to short notice calls to duty.
Some dignitaries present at the festive WASSA were Major General Omane-Agyekum – Commandant of the Military Academy Training School (MATS), Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah – Chief of Staff at the General Headquarters (GHQ), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) – Rear Admiral Seth Amoama and the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) – Air Vice Marshall Frank Hanson.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode, Burma Camp