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By Ben Dunno, Warri
Officers and men of the Nigerian Army’s 6 Division, Land Component of the Joint Task Force (South-South), Operation Delta Safe, have commenced rigorous physical and tactical training aimed at enhancing their combat readiness to respond effectively to security challenges and violent attacks in the Niger Delta region.
The five-day training exercise, which commenced on Monday with activities at the shooting range, continued on Wednesday with a five-kilometre endurance race held at the headquarters of 3 Battalion, Effurun, Delta State.
Sixty soldiers drawn from the three brigades and the Garrison Command under the 6 Division participated in the endurance race, with no casualty recorded.
Speaking briefly with newsmen before the commencement of the race, the host Commander, 63 Brigade, Asaba, Brigadier-General I.B. Buhari, described the exercise as an in-house routine training designed to promote healthy competition among various units under the division.
He said the exercise was aimed at evaluating the physical alertness of personnel across the brigades, while also encouraging officers and men to identify areas of weakness, work as a team and improve their overall performance.
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According to him, “The essence of this week-long training activity is not about building capacity in soldiers, as they have gotten the capability required, but to promote healthy competition among the various brigades and garrison for the purpose of enhancing proficiency.”
Buhari urged the participating officers and men to remain focused, skilful and creative in carrying out the tasks assigned to them throughout the training, stressing that discipline remained an integral part of the exercise.
At the end of the five-kilometre endurance race, 2 Brigade emerged winner, while 63 Brigade and 16 Brigade finished second and third respectively.
The Garrison Command, which produced the best male and female athletes in the individual sprint category, came last in the cumulative team ranking, reportedly due to what was described as complacency during the team sprint.
The Chief Umpire, Lieutenant-Colonel A.A. Oloruntoba, commended the teams for their impressive performances throughout the exercise and urged the participants to sustain the high level of enthusiasm until the completion of the training.
With the shooting range exercise and five-kilometre endurance race completed, Oloruntoba appealed to the soldiers to remain committed to the remaining activities, including swimming, map reading and obstacle crossing, which are expected to climax the exercise on Friday.
