The Nigerian Air Force on Saturday 15th June 2019, announced the graduation of 707 of its personnel from Force protection course in Kaduna, making it a total of 2,872 personnel trained in four years.
According to NAF, this training of personnel will help in curbing most of the security challenges within the country, as the need for continuous capacity development to meet the evolving imperatives for specialist skill sets, such as Force Protection, required in the ongoing counterinsurgency and anti-armed banditry operations cannot be overemphasized, therefore the graduation of about 707 Regiment and Air Police personnel trained in Force Protection in Complex Air-Ground Environment (FP-CAGE).
In addition to the Force Protection -CAGE Course 8/2019, the combined graduation ceremony, which took place at the Regiment Training Centre (RTC) Kaduna, also marked the completion of the Basic Regiment Officers’ Course 14/2019, Advanced Regiment Airmen’s Course 3/201 as well as the Basic Regiment Airmen’s Course 27/2019.
The ceremony, which featured simulation demonstrations by the graduating students, brings the total number of personnel trained in FP-CAGE, since the NAF entered into a partnership with the British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) in 2015, to 2,872.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, the Guest of Honour, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, stated that the graduation marked another milestone in the progress made towards revitalizing the NAF Regiment and repositioning the Specialty to play its roles of Force Protection and security of NAF assets.
He noted that the inclusion of some Air Police personnel in the FP-CAGE training was another initiative aimed at improving the security of bases and especially the personnel.
The CAS further noted that the current security environment, with its attendant threats and challenges to NAF bases and infrastructure, had brought to the fore the need for the NAF to be able to not just project air power but also adequately ensure the protection of NAF air assets in furtherance of national security imperatives.
According to him, “Our pragmatic approach to training has improved our capacity to secure our Bases as well as critical national assets and infrastructure while at the same time improving the capacity of the NAF to respond to national emergencies and crisis”.