Insurgency: Air Force Chief Charge ‎Soldiers on Physical Fitness … As 500 officers, soldiers compete in combat sports

Insurgency: Air Force Chief Charge ‎Soldiers on Physical Fitness
… As 500 officers, soldiers compete in combat sports

By ALEX UANGBAOJE ‎

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar has changed officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Armed Forces, especially those fighting insurgency in the North-east to combine physical fitness to myriad of weapons at their disposal to finally defeat their adversaries.

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The Air Force Chief said, with the mechanisation of warfare further accentuating the importance of physical fitness, soldiers must like in the past still perform most of the arduous tasks which fighting men for thousand years have had to do while at same time possessing the skill to effectively operate myriad of equipment at their disposal.

Air Marshal Abubakar stated this on Monday, as over 500 officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) kicked-off combat sports competition in Kaduna.

According to the Air Chief, “In today’s armed forces, physical fitness is a vital component of combat readiness and must be an integral part of every personnel’s life.

“Undoubtedly, our approach to physical fitness must be centered on the concept of total fitness for war, which entails technical fitness to develop the knowledge and skills to fight, mental and emotional fitness to bring about the incentive and desire to fight as well as physical fitness to build the strength and stamina to fight.

“In observing the relevance of physical fitness to combat effectiveness, the late US President Ronald Regan noted and I quote, ‘even with today’s weapon systems, it is the service men and women who are physically, mentally and spiritually ready to serve their country who will make the difference in any future conflict’.

“This event is however apt as it affords us the opportunity to test the physical and mental readiness of personnel to face the challenges of combat situation. I am confident that entrenching this form of sports at all levels in the armed forces would make make us more effective in discharging our constitutional responsibilities.” He said.

Declaring the competition open, the Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Mohammed Dan’Ali who was represented by the Director of Air Force, Mrs. Osai Sai said the combat sports event was apt as the armed forces was already making meaning gains against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east.

However, the four commands of the Air Force; Training Command, Tactical Command, Logistics Command, Mobility Command and Headquarters Nigerian Air Force competed in combat race to kick-start the three-day event.

Other sports being competed for include; Combat Swimming, Obstacle Crossing, Boxing, Judo, Takwando and Shooting.

The events is expected to be declared closed by Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State.

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