The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar on Saturday commended officers and airmen of the NAF for their dedication, discipline and steadfastness in ensuring that its air assets particularly fighter jets, intelligence and reconnaissance aircraft as well as logistics aircraft remain air worthy noting this is why the NAF has sustained the decimation of Boko Haram and other security challenges in the country.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier Saturday held its Third Quarter 2017 Route March Exercise for officers and airmen/airwomen serving in Abuja.
Led by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) himself, Air Marshal Abubakar and the personnel marched off from Mogadishu Cantonment to Niger Barracks and back, covering a distance of 10km walk, within the Abuja Metropolis.
The aim of the quarterly exercise is to constantly keep NAF personnel physically and mentally fit to enable them discharge their constitutional duties efficiently. Today’s exercise also witnessed a large turnout of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who joined the NAF personnel.
Addressing participants after the route march, Air Marshal Abubakar commended them for demonstrating a high level of physical fitness, noting that no matter how intelligent or dedicated they were, it would be practically impossible to effectively discharge their statutory responsibilities without a sound body.
He reminded personnel of the need to exercise regularly because “today’s military is a military that requires a sound mind in a sound body”, he said.
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Speaking on the current efforts at addressing the security challenges in the country, Abubakar noted that the NAF and other security agencies were working in synergy to ensure a conducive and peaceful atmosphere for businesses to thrive.
Expatiating on some of the recent landmark achievements in the NAF, Air Marshal Abubakar recalled that the NAF successfully airlifted relief materials donated by the Federal Government to the mudslide and flood victims in Sierra Leone, using the NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft.
The CAS also said that the NAF, in recent times, had successfully airlifted participants of the National Defence College in Abuja and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji to various African countries on study tours and would continue to do so.
He added that the NAF was also on the verge of airlifting participants at the Air Force War College on a study tour of 2 African countries.
He then commended the personnel, remarking that all the feats of the NAF would not have been possible without their commitment and dedication to duty.
Speaking further, the CAS informed the personnel that the Federal Government and indeed Nigerians in general appreciated their sacrifices.
He advised personnel not to rest on their oars but rather redouble their efforts until those efforts result in completely stabilizing the security situation in the country.
Olatokunbo Adesanya,
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force
