Air Chief Charges 2,079 Recruits To Be Resilient, Tough, Courageous
The CAS was the reviewing officer during the POP.
Abubakar said that the new recruits would substantially bridge the wide gap in the manpower disposition of the NAF.
He stressed that their enlistment into the air force was in line with the efforts of the leadership to reposition the NAF into a highly professional service that is appropriately manned and adequately trained to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
Abubakar added that their main task was to ensure that Nigeria’s “national sovereignty is not undermined or subverted by any individual or group of individuals.”
He, therefore, reiterated his vision of repositioning the NAF into a highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building, for effective, efficient and timely employment of airpower in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives.
According to him, the establishment of the Special Operations Command was deliberately done to address the challenges of asymmetric warfare, such as the one posed by Boko Haram terrorists.
“It became necessary to expand the NAF Regiment Specialty with many of these personnel trained in Force Protection in Complex Air and Ground Environment (FPCAGE).
“The FPCAGE training has consequently equipped NAF personnel with the skills required to adequately protect NAF bases and critical national assets against attacks by Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal elements.
“In the last four and half years, the Federal Government has facilitated an unprecedented increase in the number of aircrafts available for NAF operations.
“It is noteworthy that the aircraft serviceability rate across platforms has improved from 35 per cent in July 2015 to 82 per cent as at today.
“This humble achievement was brought about by intensive training and retraining of aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians who subsequently play crucial roles in the reactivation of platforms and maintenance of equipment,” he said.