RSLAF set for action this year -Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence Rt.Maj.Pallo Conteh has declared the year 2010 as year of action for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. He made this pronouncement yesterday at an interactive meeting working Lunch meeting of senior and Junior Officers to improve on the level of communication within the RSLAF.
The Minister of Defence made a brief reminiscence on developmental activities undertaken by his Ministry and the RSLAF. Prominent  among  goals scored  in 2009 are the agricultural project the military successfully embarked on, the tailoring unit, the refurbishment of Arakan Mess at Wilberforce and a host of other developmental activities were recorded. Despite the good strides made by the RSLAF in 2009 the Minister further added that he is not in anyway oblivious of the areas in which things went wrong one of several lapses he mentioned is  in the area of communication.
‘There should be a vertical flow of communication from top to bottom and from bottom to top if only we are to achieve our goal for this year’ the Minister advised.
The Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. Gen Alfred Nelson- Williams who served as chairman of the meeting  thanked every personnel of the RSLAF for their support throughout 2009.He also commended IMATT   for providing advice and assistance to the RSLAF over the years.
The RSLAF boss laid emphasis on the importance of communication as a vital tool for the operations of the Military. He encouraged personnel to make the best use of the power of communication as that is the only way the officers will understand what is going on within the Military.
The Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Robert Y. Koroma in his statement thanked IMATT for their contribution towards improving the professionalism of the RSLAF.
He however advised the commander and other senior Officers of IMATT to partner with the RSLAF at all times in the conceptualization, planning and implementation of programmes that concern the RSLAF adding that previously there have been some lapses in the implementation of certain programmes because the RSLAF was not properly consulted.
Brigadier Komba Mondeh, head of PSO unit made a brief presentation on the RSLAF’s involvement in peace keeping operations. He said a total of 21 Officers from RSLAF ranging from the ranks of Captain to Lieutenant Colonel are presently serving as staff officers and Arms monitors in various UN Peace keeping missions in countries like East Timor, Lebanon, Sudan and Nepal.
By William Freeman