By Christiana Afua Nyarko
Accra, July 2, GNA – Mr Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff, has called for the transformation of Ghana’s professional military education to address emerging and evolving security threats.
He said military institutions must continuously review their curricula and leadership training to prepare officers to confront cyber warfare, violent extremism, artificial intelligence, hybrid conflicts and transnational organised crime.
Mr Debrah made the call at the launch of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) at Teshie on Tuesday, held on the theme: “Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence in Professional Military Education.”
“We now live in an age of rapid technological change. This makes it necessary that military education is not only maintained but continually improved to meet new and emerging challenges,” he said.
Mr Debrah said the changing global and regional security environment required future military leaders to possess expertise in diplomacy, ethics, statecraft, humanitarian leadership and constitutional governance in addition to operational competence.
He noted that the sub-region continued to face asymmetric threats, violent extremism, terrorism, cyber attacks, piracy, illicit trafficking, transnational organised crime and hybrid warfare, while conflicts in other parts of the world highlighted the need for strategic discipline and professional military leadership.
“The battlefield and security theatres of today are increasingly shaped by data, cyber tools, artificial intelligence and information operations. But technology alone is not enough. No machine can replace judgement, honour or ethical leadership,” he stressed.
Mr Debrah called for stronger collaboration among the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, intelligence agencies, civil authorities and regional partners, saying contemporary security challenges required coordinated responses.
He commended the College for its contribution to professional military education over the past five decades, describing it as a centre for strategic thinking, leadership development and national service.
Mr Debrah said the College had trained military officers from Ghana and other African countries, adding that 26 allied students from 14 countries were currently undertaking Senior Course 47.
He welcomed the College’s accreditation to offer master’s and doctoral programmes in Defence and International Politics and Security Studies, saying modern defence leadership required both academic scholarship and operational competence.
Mr Debrah also announced plans to further modernise the institution through a university project incorporating a digital library, cyber laboratories and simulation centres to strengthen military education and strategic research.
Major General Jackson Wonje, Commandant of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, said the changing character of warfare required a corresponding shift in professional military education.
He said emerging technologies, including cyberspace, space-based capabilities, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, were transforming military operations and underscored the need to adopt multi-domain operations.
“We can no longer operate entirely within our traditional war-fighting domains because they can easily be rendered irrelevant. We must therefore embrace the multi-domain operations concept,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Wonje said although the College had recorded improvements in information technology and physical infrastructure, further investment was needed to meet future training requirements.
He said, as part of the Golden Jubilee legacy projects, the College had commenced plans to construct a three-storey faculty block comprising 32 offices, 28 syndicate rooms and two central lecture halls, as well as a 24-unit studio apartment block to support its expansion programme.
Established in 1976, the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College provides professional military education for middle and senior-level officers of the Ghana Armed Forces, allied armed forces, security agencies and selected civilians.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Christiana Afua Nyarko