…President urges them to act with diligence, dedication, discipline

AT the Presentation of Instruments of Commission for the Standard Officers’ Course (SOC) No. 51, on Thursday, President David Granger challenged graduates to uphold their sworn oath to act diligently, disciplined and in dedication to the discharge of their duties.

A Commission is a unique, official certificate issued only by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In remarks, the President noted that the award of the State Commission and the conferment of the Instrument of Commission, by convention, are rites of passage signaling that officer cadets have been trained and considered worthy to become commissioned officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

He told the Officers that the Commission distinguishes the officer from the non-commissioned officer and the private soldier and appoints a person to high office with the authority to exercise the functions of command in the GDF.

The Head of State indicated that State Commission and Instrument of Commission are not merely certificates to mark the successful completion of a training course but constitute the lawful licences to exercise authority as military officers.

“The State Commission demands trust, loyalty and good conduct on the officer’s part. It requires the exercise of diligence, discipline and dedication in the discharge of his duties. It requires him to demonstrate obedience to his superiors, to demand compliance from his subordinates and extend cooperation with his compeers,” President Granger stated.

He added: “The Standard Officers’ Course trains and tests future military leaders. Cadets must be educated continuously and consistently to exercise leadership of their corps and units. The Force, through its training programmes, must produce men and women who embody the Force’s core values.”

Referring to the Colonel Ulric Pilgrim Officer Cadet School’s aim being to develop character, instill discipline, initiative and self-confidence and inculcate the duties of citizenship, loyalty and patriotism, the Head of State challenged the graduates to live up to these goals in all aspects of the lives.

He also challenged them to uphold the Force’s five core values – duty, discipline, identity, integrity and loyalty.

Reminding them of the oath to which they swore, the President stated: “I…will bear true faith and allegiance to the state of Guyana; that I will support and defend the state against all enemies whomsoever; that I will faithfully discharge the functions of an officer in the Guyana Defence Force without fear or favour, affection or ill will, and that in the discharge of those functions, I will honour, uphold and preserve the Constitution of Guyana.”

He congratulated the graduates on being Commissioned as Officers and noted his pleasure to grant them the Instruments of Commission appointing them as officers of the GDF in accordance with the Guyana Defence Act.