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New military officers commissioned

Feb 26, 2009 News

– required to lead in changing and challenging times

 

Leadership will become an extremely critical force on how we survive, and to this end, 39 new officers of the disciplined services were challenged to be a party against anything that can cause fragmentation in the society.

The charge was delivered by Reverend Raphael Massiah during the commissioning service of the Standard Officers’ Course # 41 which was held yesterday at the Guyana Defence Force Auditorium, Camp Ayanganna.

The special church service is the ceremonial blessing of the Ensigns’ badge of rank, which they will be presented with today as newly appointed Second Lieutenants of the various disciplined services they represent.

According to the Reverend Massiah, the new officers have been assigned to lead in a wilderness of changing and challenging times.

He referred to the biblical book of Genesis which spoke of Abraham leading a small party from his household to confront four kingdoms to recover what was taken from them.

Messiah pointed out that although Abraham’s party was not made up of trained military men, they were able to succeed because of the leadership provided by the man of God.

“Once you become empowered to lead, the organization trusts you to lead. So you have to lead by your own integrity. Personal integrity will keep you. Your outside posture must be consistent with your inside,” Reverend Massiah told the new officers.

He stressed that their first commitment has to be to the organization. However, he pointed out that they must have a moral compass within them to determine what is right or wrong.

The new officers completed 10 months of intense military training which was added to exercises in politics, global and other studies.

The ranks, which include four females, were drawn from the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service, the Prison Service, the Belizean and St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Forces.

The sermon delivered by reverend Massiah echoed sentiments expressed by Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best a few weeks ago when he pointed out that this period marked the beginning of a new phase in the lives of the new officers.

According to Best, it signals the ceremonial change from civilian to military status.

“This simply means that your lives are now ordered and programmed for the purpose of defence duties,” Best told the Ensigns, adding that it also heralds the beginning of a professional career that could last for as much as 33 years if the personal life goals of the ranks coincides with that of the organization.

“You are never going to be the same person you were even after you leave the Defence Force in years to come. Our mark, the military stamp that has been embedded in you is a permanent one and one that is recognizable throughout our country as well as in any part of the world,” Best said.

In his remarks yesterday, Reverend Massiah also commended the Guyana Defence Force for training its officers locally.

“This is a solid programme not only for Guyana but for the entire (Caribbean) region. The product is marketable not only in the region but the entire world.

According to the Chief-of-Staff, the commissioning of the new officers mirrors the vision for the Commander in Chief of the joint services, President Bharrat Jagdeo with regards to training of officers.

This is the first time that the majority of persons on the Standard Officers’ Course are persons who are not members of the Guyana Defence Force.

Of the 39 Ensigns, only 16 were from the GDF, while 16 were from the Guyana Police Force, two from the Guyana Fire Service, three from the Belizean Defence Force and one each from the Guyana Prison Service and the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force.

The Chief-of-Staff said that this augurs well or the security forces since it leads to commonality of the training which is intended to offer flexibility to face the challenges of the present security environment.

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