The Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) on Tuesday began a 2-day seminar on counter terrorism and counter insurgency for junior military commanders, to enhance their capabilities in the ongoing war against terrorism and banditry in the country.
The Commandant of the College, AVM Lawal Alao said while inaugurating the seminar in Jaji, Kaduna State that it was to build the capacity of the young officers and help them perform optimally when deployed for counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations.
The News Agency of Nigeria,(NAN) reports that the theme of the seminar is: “Enhancing Military Capacity in Contemporary Counter Terrorism, Counter Insurgency Environment”.
Alao said the theme was in line with the objectives of the College which was to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of selected officers in order to prepare them for increasing responsibilities in staff and command appointments.According to him, in recent times, the armed forces command and staff college, Jaji has renewed its emphasis on joint and multi-agency training and operations.”
In line with this, the Counter Terrorism Counter Insurgency Seminar for the Junior Course is reviewed from a Single-Service Package in the Department of Land Warfare, to a tri-Service exercise organised by the Department of Joint Studies.
“This is in tandem with actual situation in the theatre of operation, especially in the North East, where deployed personnel from all Services, government and non-governmental agencies all work towards the defeat of Boko Haram Terrorists.” As junior commanders, you have great roles and responsibilities to play in the execution of your higher commanders’ plan. This can only be achieved with adequate training, a sound mind and good judgement,” he said.The Commandant said the seminar was therefore an opportunity for the students to expand their capacity in tackling contemporary Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency threats bedevilling the country.“The AFCSC is striving to boost its operational effectiveness and overall capabilities, both as single-Service force elements and joint forces responding to contemporary security challenges.” As the contemporary military environment becomes more contested and complex, we must adapt positively to ensure that we are ahead of the adversary,” he said.He added that it was imperative for the AFCSC to enhance its quality of training, aptitude of personnel and state of equipment in order to deploy the necessary force that was capable of tackling security threats of varying magnitude.He noted the increasing importance being conferred on Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency training by the various single and tri-Service military training institutions. “However, we may need to look at the issues of standardisation, scope, currency and consistency of training so that we do not pay mere lip service to the concept of training.“On equipment, I am pleased that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is embarking on a modernisation drive to reinvigorate the inadequate scale of equipment that used to be the situation in times past.“I believe that innovation, utilisation of military technology and collaboration with critical technical partners will go a long way in enhancing the quality of military equipment to be used for counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations, ” he said.Alao added that it was germaine to the building of capacity for counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations as the critical requirement of galvanising the military personnel, equipment and training resources towards achieving success in counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations. “In building capacity, we must resist the tendency to neglect the foundational and time-tested principles of combat power, while promoting more effective and efficient ways of achieving results, ” Alao added. (NAN)
