RFMF COMMISSIONS THE NEW FIJI NAVY BAND.
Today was a historical day for the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) as they commission the new Republic of Fiji Navy (RFN) Band at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Nabua. The auspicious occasion was officiated by the Commander RFMF Rear-Admiral Viliame Naupoto and was witnessed by members of the institution alongside friends and families.
A total of seventeen (17) energetic young men and women, and 8 senior musicians from the RFMF band will now form the RFN band under the leadership of Lieutenant (Navy) Vesikula Cakacaka.
The event began with a devotion by the RFMF Chaplain before the ceremonial handing-over of the new Band Sash and Mace from the Commander RFMF to the RFN band Drum-Major Warrant-Officer Class 2 Patemo Niurua. The event concluded with a traditional ceremony in honour of the new RFN Band.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI NAVY BAND.
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces band plays a vital role in the prognosis of the RFMF as an institution, its moral values to the general public, and most importantly, to our beloved Nation.
High demand for governmental engagements, regimental obligations within the institution, as well as public and overseas engagements, prompted the RFMF command to initiate the formation of the Fiji navy band.
On Wednesday 25th July 2018, at the RFMF band room, the Commander RFMF, Rear-Admiral Viliame Naupoto made known his intentions of establishing a navy band.
Written communications followed suit.
On 13 August 2018, with the Commander RFMF’s approval, the creation of the Fiji navy band was in motion.
After countless hours of auditioning, conducted by the RFMF band training team, and a hundred (100) musicians attending, seventeen (17) musicians were successful in their bid. All were drawn from the National Youth Brass Band, Salvation Army brass band and the young people’s department brass band stationed at the Methodist leadership training center at Davuilevu.
After their Basic Recruit Training in April 2019, at the Togalevu naval base, the Chief-of-Navy then, Captain (Navy) Humphrey Tawake, requested to HQ Land Force Command, the attachment of these seventeen 17 navy band personnel to the RFMF band. The purpose of the attachment was to indoctrinate these navy band personnel, on basic necessities and the work culture of how a band, such as the RFMF band is administered and operated.
Four months of attachment, learning the skills of the trade, on 16 August 2019, an inaugural badging parade was held at the Fiji Naval Stanley Brown base. This badging parade was to officially induct these naval ratings as fully-fledged musicians.
Eight senior musicians from the RFMF band will complement their numbers to twenty-five (25) and the Fiji Navy band will be under the baton of Lieutenant (Navy) Vesikula Cakacaka.
After seventeen months, today will be forever etched in our minds and the souls of these seventeen (17) young, energetic pioneers of the naval rating musicians. For all their training, attachment to badging comes to end with the commissioning of the Fiji Navy band today.
