Protection Of Territorial Integrity Must Be A Priority...President To Military Graduands

President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged some 107 newly commissioned officers of the Ghana Armed Forces to at all times remember that the protection of Ghana’s territorial integrity is their topmost duty.

Addressing attendees of the 2017 Ghana Military Academy Graduation Parade of the Regular Career Course 57 and Short Service Commission/Special Duties Course 55 held at the Academy Square, Burma Camp, President Akufo-Addo said the new officers must not use their new roles to antagonise the very citizens whose taxes helped to make their training possible and to get them were they are today. He also enjoined the officers to carry out their responsibilities professionally and diligently.

Breakdown of graduation groups:

In all, a total of 107 Cadet Officers were commissioned as officers by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The breakdown of the group of graduating teams is as follows;

Graduating Cadets, Regular Career Course 57 (Army) – 37 Officers.
Graduating Cadets, Regular Career Course 57 (Army), Allied Cadets – Four Officers, two each from the Republic of Benin and Republic of Guinea.
Graduating Cadets, Regular Career Course 57 (Navy) – Nine Officers
Graduating Cadets, Regular Career Course 57 (Air Force) – 10 Officers
Graduating Cadet, Short Service Commission/ Special Duties Course 55 (Army) – 37 Officers
Graduating Cadet, Short Service Commission/ Special Duties Course 55 (Navy) – Two Officers
Graduating Cadet, Short Service Commission/ Special Duties Course 55 (Air Force) – Eight Officers
History of the Academy

The Ghana Military Academy was established on April 1, 1960 after years of reliance on foreign Military Academies to commission potential Ghanaian Officers for the Ghana Armed Forces.

The Academy grew out of the Regular Officers Special Training Schools which was established at MATS, Teshie, in 1953. This school provided six months preparatory training for selected cadets from the British West Africa colonies:- Nigeria, The Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, prior to their being sent to the United Kingdom or other overseas countries for further officer training and commissioning. Since its establishment, the Academy has produced over 3,000 Ghanaian Officers now serving in various capacities in the Armed Forces and in the country as a whole. The Academy has also trained cadets from some sister African countries, notably Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Benin and The Gambia.

The first commissioning ceremony was held on September 30, 1961 for 35 Officer Cadets. In 1961, the Ghana government arranged for a joint Military Training Team from Britain and Canada to continue with training until suitably experienced and qualified Ghanaians were ready to take over. This assistance ceased in 1974. From then, the Academy was manned entirely by Ghanaian Staff until June 1, 1984 when it was decided to modify the training syllabus in line with current trends in other renowned Military Academies.

Awards

A total 34 officers received various awards in some 27 categories. The best Allied Cadet went to C/CPL Naves Soriba, Best Female award for Regular Career Course 57 went to C/SG Officer M. Kawukumey and that of Short Service Commission/ Special Duties went to C/SGT. Asante- Mante Y.K. The best all round Cadet Award, Sword of Honor, the Highest Award, went to Senior under Officer Arthur Barnes Kwesi.