Students of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Junior Course recently visited the Western Naval Command to familiarise themselves with the operating environment of the Nigerian Navy and also enhance their understanding of the capabilities and utilities of sea power in contemporary warfare, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
To aid students contribute to national security when deployed to the field on completion of the course, students of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Junior Course 92/2021, Jaji, recently visited the Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy (NN).
The visit was also to familiarise the students with the operating environment of the Nigerian Navy and also to enhance their understanding of the capabilities and utilities of sea power in contemporary warfare.
According to the navy, this will aid the students contribute to national security when deployed to the field on completion of the course.
Receiving the participants, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa, stated that the Armed Forces Command and Staff College is a training ground for all career officers, where most officers have to pass through the college at least twice in their career – for both junior and senior courses.
According to Gbassa, “part of the requirement of the course is the exposure of the students to the field operating environment. Therefore the visit by the college to Western Naval Command, is to expose the students – particularly the Army and the Air Force officers to the sea at least once in their career. This is to equip them with sea experience for the times that tasks will involve joint operations within the three services.
“They will have a feel and know what it takes to ride on a ship, and all that is involved to run a ship at sea. This is basically what we are here for. Furthermore, it also goes to serve our purpose of securing and assuring a safe business environment across our sea links of communication, towards enhancing the prosperity of our nation.”
In his response, AFCSC Commandant, Air Vice Marshall Ebenezer Olayinka Alade, reiterated that
the visit is one of their course requirements, as the students are expected to go round all the services, operational units, to know how things are done, and to enable them have direct exposure to the conduct of operations.
The commandant, who further stated that the college is a tri-service institution, said the navy participants would have been used to this, “for the army and airforce counterparts, it will be a new experience.
” Back then when I was on this course, I was on the high sea overnight, in the ship, and that has been my only experience on the high sea,
Therefore as a military personnel, one must be conversant with the land, sea and air.
“This experience will afford them that opportunity, so that when they become commanders sometimes in the nearest future, and there is a requirement to cooperate with a naval counterpart, they would have had the experience of what it looks like, being a naval officer.”
