The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) says it has trained more than 500 personnel of its special forces in asymmetric warfare in the past six months.
The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, AVM Olatokunbo Adesanya, said this in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.
He said that the trained personnel comprised airmen and air women from its Regiment Training Centre (RTC) in Kaduna.
Adesanya said that the eight weeks specialised training was facilitated by an Israeli Military Training Organisation, Four-Troop Limited, in conjunction with NAF instructors at RTC.
He said the training was designed to meet contemporary security challenges as well as add more value to the base defence architecture of the NAF toward enabling the continuous projection of air power.
The statement also quoted the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar as saying “the current NAF leadership has made deliberate efforts at repositioning the NAF into a highly professional fighting force’’.
“Several air and ground related capacity building initiatives have been conducted in recent times to enable the NAF have depth, flexibility and capability to operate either alone or in conjunction with other sister services.’’
According to him, the leadership of NAF will continue to build a highly sustainable and functional air force that will be highly responsive and decisive.
He said that through collaboration mechanisms with other organisations, NAF would continue to develop requisite capabilities and evolve new strategies for adequate response
According to him, NAF will also maintain proper force structure to counter challenges as they affect the wellbeing of the nation.
Abubakar congratulated the graduands and advised them to imbibe the attributes of Special Forces, which include absolute discipline, honesty, intelligence, motivation, teamwork, decisiveness, aggressiveness and courage, among others.
Abubakar urged the Special Forces to submit themselves to the civil authority and protect democracy.
“Always remember that your duty is to protect all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic background or religious inclination,” he reiterated.
The statement also quoted Commandant, RTC Group Captain Isaac Subi as saying “the Special Forces personnel have been provided with a robust, professional, comprehensive and practical training that was mission tailored.’’
Subi said the curriculum of the Special Forces Course was structured to make it effective and efficient to meet the ever changing complexities of military operations either during war or in peace time.
According to Subi, the newly graduated Special Forces will form the crop of personnel to man the recently established Quick Response Wing in Lafia, Nasarawa State. (NAN)