Brigadier-General Aminu Umar, Commander of the Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army, today (19 June 2023) flagged off the Brigade’s Warrant Officers and Senior Non Commissioned Officers Competition for the year 2023 at the 7 Guards Battalion Parade Ground in Maitama, Abuja. This was done in accordance with the Headquarters Nigerian Army’s forecast of events and the Guards Brigade Training Directive.
According to the Commander, the competition, which is in accordance with Army Headquarters’ forecast of events and Guards Brigade training directives, aims to ensure leadership qualities, discipline, and the level of initiative of the staff in order to ensure cooperation between the Warrant Officers and Senior Non Commissioned Officers in the Brigade.
Brig Gen Umar stated that training and retraining of individuals under leadership is essential and a continuous process in the Nigerian Army since it brings out the best in terms of discipline, physical fitness, battle survivability, and team spirit, especially among troops of the brigade.
The competition, he continued, is also in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision of having “A Professionally Responsive Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Mission within a Joint Environment in Defense of Nigeria” because it gives units under command the opportunity to identify personnel’s areas of strength and weakness. This will help ensure that the troops are properly prepared and increase their skill in the field.
He praised the commanding officers for working to ensure that the troops were prepared physically and mentally to complete the competition’s intended goals, and he urged everyone to adopt the high standards of discipline, alertness, and readiness of the individual participating units. The Guards Brigade is an elite group responsible with guarding the executive mansion, the Commander-in-Chief, and the first family.
Foot Drill, Map Reading, Weapon Handling, and Combat Walk are among the events that will be contested in. The participating units under the brigade are the 7th Guards Battalion in Maitama, the 102nd Guards Battalion in Suleija, Niger State, the 176th Guards Battalion in Gwagwalada, the 177th Guards Battalion in Keffi, Nasarawa State, and the Guards Brigade Garrison in Mambilla Baracks, Asokoro abauja.
All of the Brigade’s principal staff officers, Unit Commanders, officers, and members of the barracks community are present at the ongoing event. A team of umpires from Army Headquarters Garrison is led by Lt Col Bashir Ahmed for the drill competition, and each event also has a different panel of judges based on their area of expertise.
After a particularly thrilling day of drill competition, the top three teams were 7 Guards Battalion, 177 Guards Battalion, 102 Guards Battalion, and Guards Brigade Garrison, who finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
