The Ghana Military Academy (GMA) Intake 15 has organised a thanksgiving service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their commissioning as officers into the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

The event, which took place at the academy last Sunday, was on the theme: “50 years dedicated service to God and country”.

It brought together all the surviving members of the intake and their families, the leadership of the GAF and the military academy, as well as some officer cadets to worship and thank God for the blessings upon their lives and the force.

They also held an intercessory prayer for the leadership of the country, and also prayed to God to strengthen the GAF to continue leading the peace by protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.

As part of the celebration, the members made a donation of GH¢50,000 as seed money for the construction of a library for the military academy.

In addition, they also donated books written by some members of the intake to the academy. 
 

Best intake

The President of Intake 15, Brigadier General George Adjei (retd), thanked the Commandant of the academy and his staff for giving them the premises to commemorate the anniversary.

“I must say with pride that Intake 15 has been one of the best intakes ever in our noble Armed Forces.

We produced a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Service Chiefs, Chief of Staff, Formation Commanders, top generals and brilliant staff officers,” he said.

He congratulated his colleagues for making the group and the GAF proud, and for the show of love and goodwill towards each other for the past 50 years. 
 

Values

Brig. Gen. Adjei further implored the officer cadets to remain loyal and to put the interest of the country first in everything they did, adding that “your actions and inactions should not betray Ghana”.

He said every activity which profited them at the expense of the nation should be seen as a corrupt and disloyal act.

“Always remember not to steal, lie, cheat, or tolerate those who do so.

You are the future of the GAF in some few years to come, so your allegiance to the Constitution of the country should be paramount and never in doubt,” he said.

As officers, he said, they should be honest in all their dealings with their subordinates and superiors.

Brig. Gen. Adjei urged them to seek the interest and welfare of their troops at all times.

He urged them to develop the moral courage to always stand for the truth irrespective of the consequences.

“From my experience in the Ghana Armed Forces, I will urge you not to cut corners, engage in eye service or malign your colleagues and superiors to protect yourself.

Remember that a good name is better than riches,” he said.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice-Admiral Seth Amoama, said the theme of the event reflected the continuous work of the officers in the country even after retirement.

“It is said that a nation that does not honour its heroes is not worth dying for, and so it is with any other organisation such as ours.

That is why we in the GAF are so proud and pleased to have had these fine gentlemen who served the colours with so much integrity, diligence and dedication,” he said.

He described the members as the epitome of hard work and dedication to God and country.

Vice-Admiral Amoama said it was the first intake to produce seven generals in one day in the year 2003 along with one of them who rose to become a CDS.

He said the intake also produced Deputy United Nations Force Commanders, Deputy Commandants for the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Military Academy and Training Schools and Commandant for the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

Their prowess, he said, was not limited to only the GAF, but also academia, where they produced the first doctorate holder in the Ghana Armed Forces in 1977, a Director for the Ghana Law School and fine authors.

He urged the officers to follow in their footsteps as they served in the profession and country.  

SOURCE: GraphicOnline