SIXTEEN reserve officers have successfully completed training on the second iteration of the recently concluded Reserve Officer Senior Command and Staff Course (RSCSC).

The course curriculum mirrors that of the Senior Command and Staff Course for regular officers and focuses on a number of core areas including international, regional and national security affairs, multi-operational planning, critical-thinking and problem-solving and multi-agency command and co-operation.

Major Marlon Daniels, Executive Director of Commercial Services and Customer Relations at the Guyana Water Authority was adjudged the best graduating student while Major Salim October, Preparedness and Response Manager at the Civil Defence Commission, received the prize for runner-up student. Major Manesh Seeram, the Business Change and Quality Assurance Officer at the Guyana Police Force Command Centre, received the prize for Best Research Paper.

At the closing ceremony earlier on Thursday, Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess noted that he is particularly pleased that the course was conducted since the Reserve Forces must be incorporated and effectively utilised to achieve the Commander in Chief’s plans to have the military involved in all spheres of the society while building community relations.

Brigadier Bess said the mix of experiences, professional aptitudes, dedication and commitment was a good blend and contributed to the success of the reserve officers.

He added that given the construct of the reserve, the training on the RSCSC has better equipped the officers to function in their primary roles while at the same time, building capacity as a military officer.

The Chief-of-Staff told the reserve officers that the force is in the process of evolving and so their involvements and ideas are welcomed.
“You must be able to evolve with it. You must be able to see where changes to the status quo are necessary and need to be supported by relevant action…. The military landscape has been changing globally and some of those changes are going to impact the GDF in the future.

Your effectiveness will always be evaluated against the depth and breadth of your understanding of the changing dynamics of this environment. You are ready to graduate today, and you must be ready for the future,” he urged.

The RSCSC is the capstone course for reserve officers as there is no other mandated promotion training for them.
During her address, Commanding Officer of the Training Corps (ag), Lieutenant Colonel Lorraine Foster said that this and other batches of reserve officers have proven that they are a worthy component of the GDF and provide a very reliable support structure and system.

“Your roles in civil defence response, security, provision of expertise in the fields of medicine, engineering, technology, teaching, research and development and participation in all of the force’s activities and competitions are indicative of your increasing integration and development or core competencies in the force,” she said.

She further encouraged the officers to be instruments of the change they desire in the military environment as well as in their civilian employment.
Also present at the closing ceremony were National Security Adviser, Gerald Gouveia and Director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Colonel Omar Khan.

The second Infantry Battalion Reserve is present in all 10 administrative regions of Guyana and ranks are currently deployed, assisting in the national vaccination drive.