The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Thursday winged 12 newly trained combat pilots to bolster its counter-terrorism efforts.
The winging ceremony of pilots of Basic Flying Course-20 was held at the 403 Flying Training School (FTS), Kano.
A statement by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, decorated the combat pilots, charging them to justify the efforts and resources invested in their training.
Abubakar had told the officers to contribute their best in sustaining “the successes recorded in the various theatres of operation” within the country.
According to him, the Air Force has continued to conduct operations aimed at not only decimating criminals and denying them freedom of action, as well as shaping the operational environment in the various theatres.
The success, he said, can be sustained with “the injection of new and vibrant pilots to add energy and bite to the operations”.
He added further that the winging ceremony was significant, coming at a time the NAF had benefitted from the Federal Government’s determination to provide necessary equipment in the fight against terrorism, insurgency and other forms of criminality.
According to him, the graduation of the Basic Flying Course 20 serves to bridge the pilot deficiency gap in the Force.
Earlier, the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Nnamdi Ananaba, disclosed that the graduation ceremony represented the final phase of a series of training activities aimed at producing fully qualified pilots for the NAF.
He noted that the flying course is to produce pilots that are significantly knowledgeable to operate the new and highly technical platforms being inducted into the Nigerian Air Force.
Source: Daily Post
