GDF Cadets put military skills on display

Ten officer cadets inclusive of a lone female officer Stacy Cadogan demonstrated military tactics and manoeuvres necessary in their quest to become soldiers in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) as the Colonel Ulric Pilgrim/Camp Stephenson training school at Timehri hosted Cadets’ Day on Sunday.
Parents and relatives turned out to witness the officers performing martial arts; taking on the three-mile run, the obstacle course, the house-clearing exercise, rappelling, the falling plate shoot, weapons display; and displaying ravine crossing and jungle survival skills.
The exercise which forms part of the Standard Officers’ Course (SOC) Number 45 was also witnessed by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Donald Ramotar; Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; GDF Chief-of-Staff Gary Best; and other senior officers.
The course, which also trains officers for the Joint Services and the defence forces of the region, commenced on March 26 this year, with 36 male and two female recruits in line with the objective of promoting and training junior leaders for the GDF.
The few that remained after the course commenced were seen not as a demerit to the force, but as an indication of their commitment to duty and their desire to conquer the rigours of military training.
“Their training is relevant to the developmental thrust of our nation and encapsulates our security concerns. It prepares them for service to all the people of Guyana,” Training Officer Colonel Khemraj Persaud remarked at the opening.
The demonstrations, accompanied by detailed explanations were thrilling, entertaining, stimulating, and educational – amazing onlookers as the officers undertook a dangerous mission of rappelling from the Bell 412 helicopter to pursue persons who played the role of high-profile criminals. Their precision in hitting fast-moving targets was witnessed in the falling plate shoot taken from 100 metres away, which also showcased the cadets’ skills in disassembling and reassembling different categories of weapons blindfolded. They were also tasked with providing detailed explanation of the weapons on display.
Ravine crossing, a skill that calls for great upper body strength to advance vertically, horizontally and to rappel were performed with ease by the cadet officers.

Visitors also saw and learnt how soldiers survive when lost in the jungle and the types of food they have to consume; one of which was the worm that lives in palm trees. Training was regarded as the foundation of the army by the commander-in-chief, who promised that his administration will continue to invest its available resources.
“We will continue… to build on our training, to look at your capital expenditure, to try to equip, as far as that is practicable… the defence force so that you can carry out your duty and perform your tasks while developing your personalities within the defence force,” President Ramotar said.
He urged the officers to “carry the good name of the army”, and more particularly, to invest in their own education so that the army’s reputation as a highly respected institution can be sustained.
The Colonel Ulric Pilgrim/Camp Stephenson School is considered the army’s main operations and training base which, from Sunday’s demonstrations, has been meeting the objectives for which it was established, Commodore Best said.
He charged the officers to always strive for good conduct, zero-tolerance for disobedience, and protection of the school’s integrity.