Nigerian Air force gets 16 new pilots
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao has winged 16 new pilots of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
Amao speaking at the winging ceremony held at NAF Headquarters in Abuja tasked them to be relentless in the pursuit of excellence and professionalism as operational pilots and operators while working alongside their colleagues across other specialities in the Service.
He also enjoined them to strive to imbibe the doctrine of jointness at the front lines as they synergize with personnel from sister Services and other security agencies in pursuit of national security imperatives.
According to the CAS, the winging of the pilots was yet another step in the deliberate drive towards the realisation of his vision “to enhance and sustain critical airpower capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national security imperatives”.
He disclosed that he was glad to note that, through foresight and diligence, the Service has effectively keyed into one of the key drivers of this vision which is to “pursue purposeful training and human capacity development”.
Highlighting the significance of the winging ceremony, the CAS noted that for the NAF to function efficiently, both as a highly technical Service and as a fighting force to be reckoned with, it must have the right mix of numerical strength and qualitative manpower in all relevant competencies.
This, he said, informed the need to pursue training of NAF personnel both locally and overseas.
Air Marshal Amao further stated that “Another set of 11 student pilots are currently undergoing training in South Africa, while 3 are undergoing Alpha Jet conversion in Egypt.
“In the same vein, 12 student pilots are undergoing Super Tucano training while 4 others are undergoing helicopter training in the United States of America.
“Locally too, over 100 pilots are currently undergoing various types of flying training ranging from Basic Fighter Training, Basic Transport Training, Ab-Initio Flying Training, Initial and Basic Training and Helicopter Pilot Training at various NAF flying training institutions nationwide”.
These training efforts, according to the CAS, are targeted at ensuring combat readiness at significantly higher levels to counter both domestic and foreign threats to the nation’s security and the wellbeing of all Nigerians.
Air Marshal Amao also seized the opportunity to appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the enabling environment for the NAF, and indeed the entire Armed Forces, to function more effectively, despite budgetary constraints.
