No fewer than 260 Nigerian Army officers participated in the Regimental Sergeant Majors’ (RSM) Convention, 2022 to improve operations in the Nigerian Army.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya said this at the closing of the RSM Convention 2022 with the theme: “Capacity Building for RSMs in the Nigerian Army for enhanced regimentation.’’
Yahaya said that RSMs were at the peak of their career in their hierarchy as soldiers and they were very important elements in army operations.
“They are important in command and control, in regimentation, in maintaining ethics, customs and traditions and they maintain a very special place in that line.
“This is why we attach a lot of importance to their training and this convention is part of the training they undergo as RSMs.
“The overall aim is to improve on our competencies, particularly in the area of regimentation, discipline and maintenance of barracks’ sanctity and barrack life,” he said.
Yahaya said that the principle applied to successfully govern a group of people was the same principle in managing a family and a home.
He, therefore, advised the RSMs to remain good husbands and fathers to their wives and children so that they could excel at the task of ensuring sanctity and order in the various barracks where they belong.
The COAS also said that training was a key element in everything the Nigerian military did particularly in the army.
“One of the four cardinal principles of my command’s philosophy is training because there is no alternative to it. So, we will continue to train and improve on what we do.
“We expect that when participants go back to their various units and formations, we will see the impact of the training in what they do.
“That is why we attach a lot of importance to training. Our trainings cut across all spheres and ranks from the private soldiers to the RSMs,” he said.
Faruk said that the essence of the training for RSMs was to improve their competencies and come up with modalities on how to address the gaps in the system.
“This is what has accounted for some of the successes Nigerian Army are having in the areas of our operations,” the COAS said.
The event started on May 9 and ended on May 13 at the Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps Headquarters in Lagos.