By Ronald Nahabwe
Ibanda: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. David Muhoozi ordered the newly passed out Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Platoon commanders to defend Uganda jealously, now that they have acquired the necessary knowledge, because the course attended gives them full powers to command soldiers and protect Ugandans with their properties. Gen. Muhoozi made these remarks on Friday during the pass out ceremony of the commanders at Bihanga Training School in Ibanda District. The CDF congratulated the graduates upon successful completion of the course.
He said that “Platoon Commander is a career progression course and many more courses are yet to come.” He cautioned the newly passed out commanders that they shouldn’t be over-ambitious about rising through the ranks so quickly, since ranks come with training attained , number of years served, discipline, appointments held, etc. “Not all of you will for example make it to General core but a few lucky ones will, because that’s not how the army works. The career paths you will take such as the different appointments and levels of training among others will be determining factors but we must nevertheless continue serving the country in different capacities ” Gen Muhoozi said. The CDF also gave a lecture about opportunities to the students, which dwelt on the recent President’s message to the UPDF officers and men when he was visiting different formations.
Gen. Muhoozi was accompanied by the Commander Land Force (CLF) Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu, who congratulated the officers upon the successful completion of the course and told the newly passed out commanders that there big tasks await them. Speaking at the same function, the Commandant Bihanga Training School Brig. Gen. James B. Ruheesi told the CDF that the course commenced on January 7th, 2019 and ran up to April 26th, 2019. Of the 219 students who joined the course, along the way 06 students had to be discontinued on medical and discipline grounds. Only 213 qualified and passed, of these 30 are females. The objective of the course was to equip learners with leadership skills and to prepare them for future tasks as officers.
The best performing students were awarded prizes with the overall best being Lt. Dan Namanya. The best in Class was Lt. Biribawa Betty Ngobi, exemplary leadership award went to Capt. Yashir Buga while the best female student was Lt. Josephine Nabulemu .The best in the field was Lt. Nicholas Akandwanaho. The pass out ceremony was also attended by Bihanga training staff, Chairman LC III Nyamalebe sub-county, OC police Kanyarugiri, Religious leaders and Wanainchi from the immediate neighbourhood.
