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Gambia News : Gambia’s Darfur Success due to Royal Gibraltar Regiment - Chief of Defence Staff
The Gambian Armed Forces are now widely recognised for their success on UN/African Union peace-support operations in Burundi, Eritrea and Liberia. However, their most significant achievements have been seen in the troubled region of Darfur.
“The professionalism of the Gambian Armed Forces (GAF) in Darfur is so striking that everyone wants them,” said Mr Phil Sinkinson, the British High Commissioner in the Gambia. “The Head of the UN Mission definitely wants them to work in the Force Headquarters " he even wants them to guard his house. This is a real reflection of their professionalism.”
But senior figures in the Gambia are quick to point out that the reason for their troops’ success is the training provided by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.
The latest of the Regiment’s Military Advisory and Training Teams has just completed another of its courses and, as a consequence, another 400 infantry and paramilitary troops have been prepared for operational deployments.
This latest training course ended with a final exercise in a temporary tented camp, specially built for the purpose by the RG instructors. This camp was to be defended from attacks by ‘rebel militia’ and used as a secure base from which patrols would move out into neighbouring villages, looking for the militiamen.
In this exercise, all the necessary peace-support skills, such as camp security, vehicle searches and patrolling were tested to the full. Organised as an inter-platoon competition, the Gambian troops were also assessed on their military knowledge and weapon-handling drills.
The subsequent Passing-Out parade in Fajara Barracks was attended by VIPs from the GAF and from the British High Commission. The Commanding Officer of the RGs, Lt Col John Perez, was one of several senior officers to present certificates of achievement to every soldier who had successfully completed the course.
The final exercise’s camp at Bakama has now been dismantled but the track leading down to where the temporary secure base once stood has already been named ‘Castrey Road’ in honour of the RG’s chief instructor, Colour Sergeant Dean Castrey.
‘This has been another highly successful piece of work by our training team,’ said its Officer Commanding, Captain David King. ‘Our soldiers have been praised by Gambia’s Chief of Defence Staff and by the British High Commissioner. That is praise indeed.’
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