Air Force establishes new ‘Special Operations Command’ for fast deployments over Security Breaches.
The Nigerian Air force has established a new Tactical Deployment Command to be known as the ‘Special Operations Command’.
The new NAF Command which is equivalent to a Division in the Nigerian Army like the 6th Division recently established in Rivers state is located in Bauchi State and its function include real time and fast operational deployments in cases of security breaches in any part of the country.
The Special Operations Command which will comprise of an air wing of fighter aircraft, Logistics aircraft as well as regiment troops among others will have the special regiment groups located in Gusau, Zamfara State, Owerri in Imo state, Ipetu Ijesha in Osun State and Bauchi as Command headquarters.
With the establishment of the new command, the NAF now has 5 commands structure consisting Tactical Air Command, Makurdi; Training Command, Kaduna; Logistics Command, Lagos, Mobility Command, Yenegoa and Special Operations Command, Bauchi.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar who made the disclosure at NAF operations Seminar 2016 in Abuja, noted that the establishment of the command was necessitated by the expanded role the NAF is playing in the Counter Insurgency operations in different parts of the country.
Towards this end, Air Marshal Abubakar disclosed that the NAF has trained over 700 personnel of different specialties in several parts of the world in the last 18 months pointing out that some of the products of these training will be deployed to the Special Operations Command to deal with Nigeria’s increasing internal security challenges.
His words, “Today, we have Flying Officers as Captains, Co-pilots, Flight Engineers and Instructor Pilots on the C-130. We have 40 pilots training in different parts of the world while 27 are training in Nigeria. Additionally, we have expanded the infrastructure in recruit training school to accommodate 2, 500 recruits at a time as against 500 recruits in the past”.
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Also, Abubakar disclosed that the NAF has established a new Air War College in Makurdi to help build the capacity of middle level manpower towards understanding Air Operations.
On platforms that would be deployed both to the new command and other commands in the NAF, the Air chief said, the NAF has “brought 13 additional aircraft that were hitherto grounded for one maintenance reason or the other into flying status.
“These are 3Mi-24, 2 Mi-35 helicopter gunships, 2 EC-135, one Beechcraft, one Falcon, one Super-Puma attack Helicopter, one DA-42, 2 A-109 LUHs and 2 Donier 228”.
Air Marshal Abubakar added that “Currently, 2 air planes, NAF 027 and NAF 931 ATR 42-MPA are at advanced stage of reactivation. In addition 10 Super Mushshak primary trainer aircraft from Pakistan, 4 Mi-35 helicopters from Russia, 3 pre-owned Super Tucano from the Brazilian Air Force and 3 JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan will soon be inducted into the service”.
On the NAF’s assistance to IDPs in the North East, the Air Chief said, “Beyond bombs and rockets, we introduced a robust and strategic partnership with the communities in the North East through establishment of Level 2 hospitals in Dalori and Bama IDP camps.
“Available statistics show that 26, 384 out patients have been administered in the hospitals from September 2015 till date. The NAF has also drilled boreholes and provided shelter and toilet facilities to the IDPs”.
Emphasizing that “This partnership has created a sense of ownership of the service in the minds of the people” Abubakar said, “They have realized that we are partners with a common objective of protecting their lives and properties. This new partnership has impacted positively on the effectiveness of our operations”.
The seminar which was declared open by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas who represented the CDS, General Gabriel Olonisakin, has as its theme, ‘Developing Effective Air Power Responses to National Security Challenges in Nigeria’.
END.
