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NAF re-strategises to fight insecurity, says 233 officers undergoing training overseas

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NAF Chief reverses trend in command postings

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said it was restrategizing its operations to effectively tackle the changing security environment in the country.

Speaking in a three-day retreat for NAF Operational Unit Commanders in Abuja, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, said a huge burden of responsibility had been placed on the Force by the Nigerian people to secure and ensure their security and safety.

Amao said NAF must look for areas of synergy with sister services and other security agencies, whilst leveraging each other’s capabilities to secure the Nation.

According to him, the retreat was positioned to appraise NAF’s current state of effectiveness and efficiency towards contributing to the enhancement of the nation’s security, as well as in dealing with current and emerging security challenges facing the country.

His words: “While noting that the Service faced several militating challenges, the onus lies on the NAF to work through those challenges and evolve the best operational strategies to achieve the desired results.

“We must therefore use this period of introspection to evolve strategies to improve our operations as well as enhance our logistics support systems and maintenance practices to ensure the serviceability of our air assets for optimal employment of airpower capabilities in joint operations.”

He said the retreat provided an avenue for NAF to critically analyse its activities, achievements, and challenges to enhance the capacity of commanders and potential commanders in NAF.

Meanwhile, four newly trained pilots comprising two fighter pilots and two combat helicopter pilots, who recently completed their training in the United States of America (USA) were winged.

Amao while winging the pilots noted that the Service cannot effectively and efficiently employ airpower if there was a lack of a sufficient number of well-trained aviators and support personnel.

Read also: NAF AIR STRIKE: Conflicting claims, as Army says it lost one officer, six soldiers in Mainok

However, he said a total of 233 officers and airmen/airwomen were undergoing training courses overseas, which cut across several specialties and trades.

“Out of this number, about 35 are student pilots undergoing various stages of training at Czech Republic, USA, United Kingdom, and South Africa.

“All these are aimed at maintaining combat readiness at significantly higher levels to counter both domestic and foreign threats to the Nation’s security and wellbeing,” he added.

While congratulating the young pilots on their winging, the CAS urged them to be relentless in the pursuit of excellence and professionalism as operational pilots, while working with their colleagues across other specialties in the Service.

In his remark, the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Air Vice Marshal James Gwani disclosed that two of the winged pilots had completed the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) at the United States Air Force training facilities in Mississippi and Texas, while the other two went through the Basic Military Helicopter and Mission and Tactics Training at United States Army Aviation Flight School, Fort Rucker and Western Army Aviation Training Site, Arizona.

He expressed optimism that the inclusion of the 4 pilots into NAF’s pilots’ corps would boost the strength of the Service especially as it would soon induct new platforms into its inventory.

The retreat, held between 27 and 29 April, was attended by several serving and retired NAF personnel pooled from across the nation, while key areas of deliberation centered on operations, logistics, as well as engineering efforts by relevant units towards enhancing the operational effectiveness of the NAF.

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