The Gambia Armed Forces high command on Monday 2 July 2018 hosted a total of at least seventy-nine (79) cadet officers from the National School of Active Officers or Ecole Nationale Des Officier D’Active (ENOA) of Senegal that recently concluded a one-week visit in The Gambia as part of a study tour which ended on Friday 6 July 2018.
The tour is part of ENOA’s curriculum for the young cadet officers who are aspiring to join the ranks of the Officer corps after graduation. During their stay, the officers were given briefings in the form of PowerPoint presentations by the Gambia Armed Forces on her Organisational structure, roles and functions. They also had briefing on the collaborative efforts in combating cross-border crime by the Gambia Police Force, roles and mandate of the ECOMIG Forces as well as those of members of the National Assembly.
In receiving the delegation headed by the Commandant of ENOA, Colonel Bubacarr Koita, at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Yakuba Drammeh thanked the Commandant for choosing The Gambia for the Study Tour while welcoming him to the DHQ. He briefed Colonel Koita on the arrangements by GAF to ensure a smooth and successful mission to the Gambia.
For his part, Colonel Koita thanked the Chief of Defence Staff through General Drammeh for the warm reception accorded them since their arrival. He told waiting journalists that one of the reasons for choosing The Gambia for the Study Tour was to broaden the knowledge of the cadets as well as to strengthen relations between the two Armed Forces for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
“We want our bilateral ties to be even stronger,” he said.
At the end of the tour, the Chief of Defence Staff hosted a dinner in honour of the Commandant, Staff and cadet officers at the Joint Officers Mess attended by Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Demba Njie, former Ambassador of The Gambia to France and Interior Minister, His Excellency Ousman Badjie and Commissioner of Police Alasana Kuyateh, who all graduated from ENOA in August 1990.
