MUBENDE.
President Museveni who is also the Commander In Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), has passed out 413 army officers who underwent an armor military warfare course at the Uganda Military Academy – Kabamba, Mubende District.
The 413 graduates who include 74 Armor platoon commanders, 122 Armor technicians and 217 Armor crews were all trained in advanced military warfare skills and tactics for six months.
During the ceremony on Thursday , President Museveni congratulated the graduates for successfully finishing their course.
“I want to congratulate the graduates for learning quickly in six months where you mastered this equipment of tanks in the four courses that have been mentioned here. I want to congratulate you and pass you out today,” he said.
President Museveni also tasked the officers to ensure comprehensive packaging of defence capabilities in their military operations.
“As I told your commanders, war is an old science and an old art. Science in the form of equipment and art in the way you are organised and utilise the equipment. Science always influences the organization and the tactics,” he said.
President Museveni also cautioned the graduates to understand the existing threats to armor defence technologies and adapt to the necessary counter approaches.
“The tank has new threats like the air force which has been improving and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), so we need to understand the packaging of capacity.”
President Museveni further urged the officers to look after their lives well so that they can progress in life.
“Love yourself so that you don’t die of diseases, alcohol or drugs.
You should remain healthy but as we told you, you must also love your equipment because if you don’t look after it well, especially if you are corrupt, when war comes you will die. When you see a corrupt soldier, he is your enemy and the enemy of the country,” he urged.
The President also assured the officers that the modernisation of UPDF is still continuing and commended the leadership of the army on strides made to professionalise the force.
“I’m happy that the CDF is still working on welfare, training, and infrastructure. We have been busy building barracks and other training facilities.”
The Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding revealed that the UPDF is fast tracking the upgrade of all military training facilities to centers of excellence and 14 of them including the Uganda Military warfare Academy – Kabamba have attained that status.
Furthermore, Lt. Gen. Okiding cautioned armor military trainees to maintain precision and competence and avoid delusive behaviors and lifestyles.
The Commandant Armored Warfare Training School – Karama, Brig Gen. Peter Chandia explained that the 413 graduates were skilled in mechanized warfare and in the fundamentals of fire power mobility.
Brig. Gen. Chandia also revealed that the graduates were competent enough to skilfully employ mechanized resources in contemporary battle spaces.
At the same event, the best students were recognized