Photo By Capt. Mark Lazane | Twenty eight Armed Forces of Liberia officers received expert instruction on the...... read more read more
EDWARD BINYAH KESSELLY MILITARY BARRACKS, Liberia—28 Armed Forces of Liberia officers received expert instruction on the military decision making process during a training at Edward Binyah Kesselly Military Barracks, Liberia April 16-27.
The two-week-long course, held in the EBK dining facility, was taught by visiting instructors from the United Kingdom-backed Horton Academy, of Freetown, Sierra Leone, which is a staff and leadership training establishment for the Royal Sierra Leone Armed Forces.
In addition to the training of the RSLAF, the Horton Academy, in an effort to promote greater sub-regional cooperation, provides training to partner nations and military members of the Economic Community of West African States, with a special emphasis on Liberia, said Lt. Col. Tim Edwards, the UK advisor to the Liberian Ministry of National Defense.
The officers received training regarding the “Seven Questions” Combat Estimate decision making process, similar to the U.S. military’s Military Decision Making Process.
“Planning is the first step to any operation,” said AFL 2nd Lt. Sheilkh Vacarah, military occupational specialty team leader at the AFL’s Armed Forces Training Center and a participant in the course. “You have to have a plan before you go into battle. You have to have a plan to conduct and sequence Army operations. If you do not plan, you will not be successful in your military efforts.”
The basis of the course is seven questions that military planners must account for in their planning efforts. The questions are:
What is the enemy doing and why?
What have I been told to do and why?
What effects do I want to have on the enemy and what directions have I been given to develop my plan?
When can I best accomplish action?
What resources do I need to accomplish my goals?
When and where do the actions take place in relation to each other?
What control measures do I need to impose?
The British and American planning process is very similar, so integrating these questions into operational planning helps a military to look at a potential operation from various angles, said Vacarah.
“An army that doesn’t plan will fail because planning is key to a successful mission,” said Vacarah. “Whether we use the British model or the American model, they are similar, so either way, we will succeed. What this course provided is exactly something that we needed to learn and something we will be able to put to use immediately within the AFL. I hope we use it on a daily basis so we don’t forget it and so we get better at it.”
“The Horton Academy is ideally placed within the sub-region to provide consistent and relevant training to the AFL/Liberian MoD and her neighbors,” said Edwards. “This will become increasingly important as the organization transitions to support and address wider Security Sector Reform issues from 2013 onwards.”
“It is hoped that the AFL and Liberian MoD will increase its use of the Horton Academy over the next few years, consolidating and expanding professional knowledge across the Security Sector as well as strengthening ties between the 2 countries,” said Edwards.
One future goal of the Horton Academy is to take on Liberian officers as cadre.
“The aspiration is that there will be MOD/AFL representation on the next Junior and Intermediate Staff Courses at the Horton Academy as well as the possibility of an assistant instructor post being established for an AFL Captain in the near future,” said Edwards. “This will greatly enhance the AFL internal training capacity in the longer term.”
“The AFL is ours and we’ve got to take every step that is needed and given to find ourselves in position to lead the AFL into the future,” said Vacarah. “This course, like others we have taken, help the young officers within the AFL by giving us the tools to lead the AFL into the future, the kind of AFL the people of Liberia expect to have.”
“This course taught us not only the importance of planning, but how to do so in an orderly, controlled fashion.”
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.17.2012 20:18 |
| Story ID: | 88591 |
| Location: | MONROVIA, LR |
| Web Views: | 365 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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