NAN-DS-9
Promise
By Yahaya Isah
Abuja, June 13, 2017 (NAN ) The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Tuesday winged 10 new pilots who graduated from Westline Aviation Academy, South Africa, having completed their one year training course.
The Chief of Air Staff, (CAS), Air Mashal Sadique Abubakar, while winging the new pilot officers at NAF Headquarters, Abuja, said there was no better time than now to train the officers.
Abubakar said that in this era of security challenges facing the country, there was no way NAF could contribute better in tackling insecurity head long than training some of its pilots.
She added that NAF was constitutionally established to project air power in protecting the territorial integrity of the country.
This, he said, could only be achieved when there was adequate trained pilots and support personnel.
He explained that his administration deliberately focused on human capacity development of personnel to meet international standards.
“Some of the products of our deliberate policy are the young men we are winging today
“The importance of this winging cannot be overemphasised, as we are committed to repositioning NAF and placing it on glorious path.”
Vice Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas, the Special Guest of Honour, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), urged the young pilots to bring to bare the knowledge they acquired during the course of their training.
This, Ibas said, would go a long way in adding more impetus to NAF as a military outfit and in the discharge of its professional responsibilities, “especially at this time when the country was facing security challenges.”
The CNS commended the CAS “for the untiring efforts in making sure he turned NAF to a highly professional organisation that the country would be proud of anytime anywhere.” (NAN)
YI/HA
Edited by HAdiza Mohammed-Aliyu