Two officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), 2nd Lieutenants Jerreck Jeff Dwanah, Jr., and Varney A. Sieleaf, are
the first post war certified commercial pilots in the AFL. They were
winged on Monday, April 16, 2018, at the Nigerian Airforce Headquarters
in Abuja, Nigeria.
Upon their return to Liberia, the two officers will pioneer the establishment of the Liberia Air Wing.
Speaking at their graduation ceremony, the Minister of National Defense
of the Republic of Liberia, retired Major General Daniel Dee Ziankahn,
Jr., extended gratitude on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces of Liberia, President George Manneh Weah, and lauded the people
and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the many
sacrifices they continue to make in resuscitating Liberia to a peaceful
country after nearly fourteen years of civil crisis.
General Ziankahn acknowledged the role played by the
Government of Nigeria in the restructuring process of the post war AFL
that saw the seconding of two of its finest Major Generals, the late Maj
Gen Luka N. Yusu, and the late Maj Gen Suraj A. Abdurrahman, who served
subsequently as Command Officer-in-Charge of the AFL during its
rebranding process and progressively brought the AFL to where it is as a
professional army dubbed as a “Force for Good”.
The Liberia Defense Boss hailed the long-standing
bilateral ties between Liberia and the Federal Republic of Nigeria that
resulted to the promotion of cultural, diplomatic and military
relationships.
“We are humbly soliciting for the training of air and
ground crew when the Liberia Air Wing is eventually established. We will
require your support, guidance and mentorship for the establishment and
operation of the Liberia Air Wing,” Minister Ziankahn said.
It can be historicized that on August 23, 2007, the
Governments of the Republic of Liberia and the Federal Republic of
Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding for military-to-military
relations in the rebuilding and professional development of the AFL.
In the actualization of the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU), the two officers were part of eights cadets that departed Liberia
in 2007 to undergo a four-year regular combatant degree course at the
prestigious Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria.
They commenced their pilot training at the Nigerian
Airforce 301 Flying Training School in Kaduna following their graduation
as members of 60th Regular Course from the Nigerian Defence Academy in
September 2013.
Upon completion of their training at the Nigerian Airforce
Training School, the Liberian Government made a passionate appeal for
further training. This appeal subsequently saw their enrollment at the
Nigerian International Aviation College in IIorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
According to the 2008 New Defense Act, section 5.1, the
Liberia Air Wing when activated will undertake search and rescue
missions; provide limited air transportation for the movement of troops
and logistics for the AFL; undertake medical evacuation; undertake
limited marine patrol over Liberian Exclusive Economic Zone and assist
government ministries and agencies in times of emergency and natural or
man-made disasters as well as assist in the evacuation and logistics
movement.
Source: Front Page Africa
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