COMMANDER-in-CHIEF of the Guyana Armed Forces, President David Granger, on Thursday congratulated troops of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), who participated in the week-long Field Tactical Exercise (FTX) “HOMEGUARD.”The President, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, and officials from the Ministry of Finance at the Tacama Training Area (TTA), Berbice River, said the exercise serves as a reaffirmation to the Defence Board and the Guyanese people that the force is always prepared to carry out its mandate.
The exercise began on August 16 and concluded one day early with the final contingent of troops moving into the Exercise Area located in the jungle and savannahs of Ituni, Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice (Region 10) and Tacama East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six).
The Exercise was designed to assess the GDF troops in Close Country Warfare (CCW) and Open Country Warfare (OCW) simulations of battle. It utilised all available resources and pitted the troops against a simulated enemy to validate training at all levels.
President Granger said that the GDF has a mandate to protect citizens and defend the territorial integrity of the country. As such, the President noted that round -the -clock training is mandatory to ensure that the force is always ready.
“The force, in order to accomplish its mission, if it is to master the art of war, it must train. In Guyana, you must master, also, Guyana’s diverse landscape consisting of the low, flat coastal plain, hilly sandy zone, undulating savannahs, swampy wetlands, verdant rainforests, majestic mountains and myriad meandering creeks and rivers. You have to learn to operate in all of these areas and I am happy that HOMEGUARD has moved you in different terrains, different landscapes, so that you master all of the ecological zones in this great country. The force’s mandate demands leadership on the part of every officer and, on the part of every soldier and unit. You have to have the ability to operate anywhere in Guyana, by day or by night, whether the sun is shining or [if] it’s raining,” the President remarked.
The TTA is the main training area of the Colonel John Clarke Military School which is located 160 km up the Berbice River in over 350 km² of savannah. It has been an ideal site for defence training over the years for generations of troops, the President said.
“Exercise Home Guard ensures that the force is tactically trained and adequately equipped to defend this country should the need arise. Exercise Home Guard is a reaffirmation and reassurance to the Guyana Defence Board, some members of which are present today, that the force is properly commanded and ready to fulfil its mission. Exercise Home Guard, through the training and tactical prowess that you have displayed so competently and convincingly, is a source of comfort to our citizens. They can rest secure in the knowledge that you stand watch over our motherland, securing it [from] danger,” the Commander–in-Chief said.
Meanwhile, Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Mark Phillips, congratulated the troops on their performance. He noted that success of the troops is evident in the early completion of the exercise.
Ninety-one officers and 945 ranks from the force participated in the exercise. Exercise HOMEGUARD comes 10 months after the successful completion of Exercise GREENHEART, which was conducted in Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) last November.