The Nigerian Navy ( NN) on Saturday urged its personnel to always go for regular medical check-ups so as to ascertain their levels of fitness and also be law abiding citizens always.
Rear Adm. Stanford Enoch, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), gave the advice after their route march.
He also urged the personnel to endeavour to check their blood pressures ( bp) regularly.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the December route march marked the final one for 2019, while the one for the first quarter for 2020 would be held in March .
The FOC, represented by Commodore Adesola Adesope, the Command Assure Sea Training Officer of NAVTRAC, said that Naval personnel should stop living in self-denial if they were on medication.
“You can see that that there has been some spate of sudden death among us, not only within the Nigerian Navy, even among the civilian populace.
“Our findings have shown that this is because we do not do our clinical (medical) checks at least twice a week.
“As military men, let us endeavour to check our blood pressure always; it doesn’t have to do with age,whether you are 20 years ,40 years or 50 years of age.
“Let us stop living in self-denial. If you have been placed on a particular medication; please, follow it to the letter.
“I believe in God, and in miracles, but let us stop living in self-denial, ” he said.
He also encouraged personnel to be cautious about their environments as the Yuletide was approaching, especially, as they would be travelling.
Enoch at the end of the march congratulated the Naval personnel for successfully completing the exercise without recirding any casualties.
He said, “Route march is to check our fitness, a show of force to the civilian populace to whom we are responsible .
“That we are there for them in terms of security challenges, especially, as we are approaching the Yuletide.
” It is also important for us as military men to take part in such exercises that will ensure we are fit,” he said.
He also implored them to teach their families the importance of keeping fit always.
“I still want to implore our wards back home on the need to always keep fit, eating and waking up without exercise is not good for our body systems.
“It is good to loosen up and take some walk to ensure that we are fit,” he said.
NAN reports that the 10km route march in which no fewer than 600 officers participated started at the Naval base, Apapa, at 6:15 a.m. and ended at 8a.m.
The walk started from the Naval base in Apapa, through Ijora axis, Costain, Breweries and ended at the base.
Also, the Western Naval Command had its own walk at the Navy Town, Ojo, with no fewer than 1,800 officers participating.
Rear Adm. Oladele Daji, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, admonished the naval personnel from the Command on the need to always be law abiding citizens.
Daji said that there was the need for them to also maintain cordial relationship with the civilian populace.
He said that defending the territorial integrity of the country would be meaningless without a harmonious relationship with the civilian populace.
“Let me use this opportunity to draw your attention to the need to continue to be law abiding citizens.
“And at the same time stress the need to maintain cordial relationship with the civilian populace and relevant stakeholders.
“This is more so, that your duty to defend the territorial integrity of our fatherland will be meaningless, if the relationship between the populace and Armed Forces is not harmonious,” he said.
He urged the naval personnel to always live by the Nigeria Navy core values of integrity, professionalism and teamwork.
The Rear Admiral also said that the route march was to keep the personnel fit, especially, for optimal performance in the discharge of their constitutional roles as naval officers.
“The quarterly route march is targeted at keeping us fit for optimal performance in the discharge of our constitutional roles as naval personnel.
“This is why the CNS’s vision and strategic directives emphasised physical fitness and mental alertness as critical elements for combat readiness of service personnel at all times,” he said.
Daji also implored the naval personnel to make use of the weekly Wednesday sports to exercise so as to ensure enhanced mental and physical alertness.
The FOC, while commending the naval personnel on a successful route march, also emphasised that a healthy mind required a healthy body to function properly.
NAN reports that all personnel from the various units under the Western Naval Command as well as from the Admiral Naval Draftting attended the fourth quarter route march at Navy Town, Ojo. (NAN)
