The Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF) is set to establish a War College to train future military strategists and leaders
President Nana Akufo-Addo said that processes are underway to establish a War College for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at the GAF’s 2022 end-of-year West African Soldiers Social Activities (WASSA) celebrations at Burma camp in Accra on Wednesday.
The Institution will be established with seed capital from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), is expected to be the capstone of Ghana’s military education system.
A War College is a senior military academy whose purpose is to educate and train senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders. It is also a place where advanced tactical and strategic thought, doctrines and policy are developed.
“It would also provide and improve the professional education of the highest levels of military leadership when established.”
The Defence Ministry and the military high command has been tasked to ensure that the War College becomes operational this year.
The intended War College will widen the scope of the training programmes already offered by the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) which is mandated to train senior GAF and allied officers of Africa.
GAFCSC offers courses not only in Defence and Military Studies but also in Governance and Leadership, International Politics, Administration and Management, as well as Crisis and Conflict Management.
The President who is the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF reiterated his commitment to ensuring the continued retooling and transformation to enhance the capacity and capability of the GAF.
The country has been taking significant steps to improve on its warfighting capacity via thorough training and acquisition of equipment, as terrorism continues it’s rapid gains across the region.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern that jihadist violence could spread south and west to affect coastal countries in West Africa.
“It started in Mali, it went to Burkina Faso, Niger and now, when we speak with the presidents of Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Ivory Coast, they say that terrorism is coming to their borders,” Guterres said recently at a regional counter-terrorism conference in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
“I totally believe we are not winning the war against terrorism in the Sahel and that the operation should be strengthened,” he said.
Last April, Ghana took the first step in building a viable military industrial complex to supply it’s military with equipment.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Monday, 4 April, inaugurated a joint venture companies under the Defence Industries Holding Company (DIHOC), and also commissioned construction equipment worth US $18 million to support the military’s operations and the General Headquarters Office Complex of the Military.
Two years ago, British troops provided training to Ghanaian soldiers on fighting in built up area (FIBUA) to enhance their capacity to tackle threats from violent extremist organisations.
British Peace Support Team Africa –BPST(A) soldiers delivered the tactical and conceptual training to their Ghanaian counterparts in support of regional stability.
With over 50 years in peace keeping, Ghana continues to contribute troops to the United Nations. Ghanaian men and women have served as United Nations peacekeepers since the early 1970s, participating in operations that stretched from the Sinai to the African continent. The West African Nations is now among the top 10 contributors to UN peacekeeping, with nearly 3,000 personnel serving on eight missions.
The United Nations recently awarded medals to personnel of the Ghanaian Battalion serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), GHANBATT 88, in recognition for their service in bringing peace to southern Lebanon.
The award parade washeld on Friday 20 May 2022 at UNP 5-66, Al Qawzah Lebanon.
Owing to their combat proficiency, Ghanaian soldiers in June 2017, took a lead role in an exercise teaching and instructing troops from the US Army on the art of Jungle Warfare an area where the Ghanaian soldiers are particularly proficient in.
The exercise took place at the Jungle Warfare school located the Achiase military base, Akim Oda, Ghana. The training exercise was aimed at assessing the participating members in Jungle Warfare, counter-insurgency and internal security operations.