The Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Rear-Admiral (RADM) Viliame Naupoto today (11 December 2019) conducted his last parade for the year at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks (QEB) in Nabua.
The parade which was commanded by the Commander Land Force Colonel (Col) Manoa Gadai consisted of more than nine-hundred men and women from all the units in the RFMF. The parade also witnessed the presentation of Meritorious Service Award medal to thirty personnel including 5 Officers who were presented with a Meritorious Service Decoration medal each.
While delivering his speech, RADM Naupoto acknowledged the soldiers for the excellent turnout during the parade and conveyed the different messages he received whilst on a tour around the various peacekeeping mission areas Fijian soldiers were deployed to last few weeks.
“I would like to convey two messages from your comrades deployed overseas. Firstly, they have sent their regards to every one of you here in Fiji and secondly they have expressed their appreciation and congratulations to the achievements during the Sukuna Bowl challenge,” RADM Naupoto said
“Your comrades are all in good health and are in high spirits despite the cold weather they have been currently facing. I have heard very good comrades from the leaders in all the missions about the service our soldiers are performing in the middle-east.”
RADM Naupoto also acknowledged the work which has been done throughout the year especially in the field of training in the country and abroad.
“2019 has been the year that we have progressed…If I may highlight a few I think that we are a well high trained force, we have a lot more people going through the academies and training institutions that are offered by our defence partners who are also working well with our local training teams and we thank them for that support,” RADM Naupoto added.
“Our PDT (Pre-Deployment Training) has been up to par which has been mentioned by the UN and they think that the training that we do for peacekeeping missions are really up to standard.”
With this being said, the Commander mentioned that there were a few modern facilities that have been established in the RFMF which includes the new medical set-up for both the dental and x-ray departments and also at the Black Rock Camp which has upgraded its capabilities which will look into Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) training apart from the peacekeeping training it has been conducting.
On the other hand, the Commander RFMF also mentioned that there were a few areas that the RFMF together with defence partners will be pursuing to progress on which includes the renewal of the RFMF Act (Cap 81) in order provide fairness to every individual in the force. He also mentioned that in 2020 Fiji will be celebrating the 50th year of independence and that the RFMF will plan to establish activities to commemorate Fiji’s independence.
The Commander RFMF concluded his speech by again thanking every soldier the work carried out throughout the year and urged everyone to put more emphasis on the safety of their family especially during the festive season.
A church service then followed the parade before a tradition luncheon for junior-non commissioned officers of the RFMF where they were served by the Officers, Warrant Officers and senior-non commissioned officers. This tradition has been conducted over the years and is way where the superior ranks of the force show their appreciation to the junior ranks for the work they have done during the year.
[unitegallery CRFMFParade_Dec2019]
