The Chief of the Defence (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Thursday inaugurated the National College of Defence Studies (NCDS) of the GAF.
The College is intended to prepare selected senior military officers and civilians for strategic-level command and staff positions.
The college will offer Masters and Doctoral programmes to officers and civilians working with national security, defence establishment, ministries departments and agencies in Ghana and allied African countries.
At a short ceremony at the Signal Training School at Burma Camp in Accra, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama told a gathering of Senior officers that the establishment of the NCDS was consistent with current efforts to boost the country’s military capabilities and readiness.
He said the aim of the NCDS was to equip personnel with the knowledge and skills needed to safeguard the nation’s peace, security, and prosperity.
“The programme of this college aims to produce graduates imbued with leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, required to address Ghana and Africa’s complex security challenges,” he said.
The CDS said the college was a testament to the military’s “unwavering commitment” to providing professional military education at the strategic level – an urgently-needed intervention to assist in offering possible solution to contemporary security challenges at the strategic level.”
He said the courses to be offered at the school would help build the capacities of selected senior officers and boost their ability to conduct scientific research in military science, defence studies, strategic studies, international relations, and related subjects.
The NCDS is set to commence its academic year on January 9, 2024.
It would train the first batch of 19 senior officers: 12 of whom are army officers, and two each from the Airforce and the Navy.
The maiden training would be done under the theme: “Environment, Security and Development” to reflect the fundamental principles of ameliorating the country’s security challenges.
Major -General Irvine Aryeetey, the Commandant of NCDS said, the setting up of the college signified a new era in the country’s defence education and training.
The college would produce strategic future leaders for the Armed Forces and empower other senior employees from the civilian circles.
“The NCDS will not be merely a place of learning but a symbol of our commitment to safeguarding our nation’s sovereignty and ensuring the safety and security of our people.
“It is here, that, the future leaders of our armed forces and civil servants from our ministries, department and agencies would be nurtured and equipped with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to protect and serve Ghana,” he said.
Currently, the NCDS has its programmes accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
Its establishment was a partial fulfilment of Section 19(1&2) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 1023 of 2020.
The NCDS forms part of a greater vision to establish a National Defence University (NDU) earlier announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the West African Soldiers Social Activity (WASSA) held in February 2023.
The NCDS is presently mentored by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and would become a branch college of the yet-to-be-established NDU, which is awaiting a presidential charter.
GNA
