| James Kon |
THE sharing of knowledge and experience by military personnel from diverse backgrounds was pinpointed as the core component of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Command and Staff Course (RBAF CSC), according to two award recipients from the course that concluded yesterday at the RBAF’s new Defence Academy auditorium in Kampong Tanah Jambu.
Awards were presented by Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah, Commander of the RBAF, while the RBAF CSC 5’s closing ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat.
Major Eric Ng Weng On from the Singapore Air Force, who received the RBAF CSC Overall Excellence Award, remarked: “There were 31 participants in the course and 16 of them came from overseas.
“There was a huge culture spread, and the cultural learning that we received from the course was tremendous… the core part and key feature of this course.”
On receiving the award, he added, “It is an acknowledgement of the hard work and challenges I faced. In the past 10 months, we were exposed to a variety of tasks which we needed to undergo to understand how operational planning works in a military.”
Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat presenting a certificate to an RBAirF personnel. – PHOTOS: BAHYIAH BAKIR
Deputy Minister of Defence presents a certificate to a senior member of the Pakistan Army
Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat presenting certificates to Lieutenant Commander Wendy Nizwar of Indonesian National Armed Forces (photo left) and Major Amirul Adly bin Haji Ali (photo right)
RBAF Commander Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah presenting Squadron Leader Alan Bowers from the Royal Australia Air Force (photo left) and Major Eric Ng Weng On from the Singapore Air Force (photo right)) with their awards
Deputy Minister of Defence Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, RBAF Commander Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah and RBPF Commissioner Dato Paduka Seri Haji Bahrin bin Mohd Noor in a group photo with senior officials, foreign dignitaries and uni-formed personnel
Major (U) Mohammed Hairy Erwandy bin Haji Raya from the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF), who received the RBAF CSC Commendation Award, commented: “The exchange of knowledge and experience among military personnel during the period of the course had been very enriching. We learnt a lot from the many stories… shared, especially by the overseas participants.”
On his award, he said, “For me, winning the award is an achievement for Brunei Darussalam. I wanted to do my best as a Bruneian. Through hard work and prayer, I believe we can achieve many things.”
Squadron Leader Alan Bowers from the Royal Australia Air Force won the Massey University Prize for Academic Excellence.
A total of 15 officers from Brunei – 13 from RBAF and one from the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) and one from the Internal Security Department – and 16 military officers from overseas (Australia, Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China and India, Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States) – who completed the 40-week course also attended the graduation ceremony held at the Defence Academy in Kampong Tanah Jambu.
Also present yesterday were the Commissioner of the RBPF, members of the Defence Executive Committee, Service Commanders, Commandants, Directors as well as representatives from the embassies and respective countries.
The Command and Staff Course is conducted in partnership with New Zealand’s Massey University, which is responsible for delivering the academic component of the course, with the aims of broadening the professional and academic knowledge as well as the analytical and communication skills of mid-level officers, in order to prepare them for higher command and staff appointments.