President commissions 71 officers

at the Zimbabwe Military Academy in Gweru.
The graduation and passout parade of the Regular Officer Cadet Course 3/27/09 is the 27th to be held at ZMA since 1980. President Mugabe, who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, expressed concern over the low number of women joining the army.
He challenged more Zimbabwean women to join the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and help safeguard the country’s sovereignty and rich history of the liberation struggle.
Although the figure was the same with that of last year, there was a decrease in percentage from last year’s Regular Officer Cadet Course 3/26/08 had only 26 junior officers.
“I am concerned at the seemingly low numbers of women who are joining the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. I would like to take this opportunity not only to invite, but also to challenge more young women to emulate today’s five female graduands by joining the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
“I am, however, proud to acknowledge and commend the five female cadets whose graduation on this course reflects ZDF’s support of Government’s policy on gender equality.
“As a nation, we continue to champion the cause of gender equality in all spheres of our political, economic and social development. It is thus our wish to see more female officers assume key command responsibilities within the Defence Forces,” he said.
Yesterday’s pass out parade was a milestone event as it marked the first lot of graduates with a Diploma in Military Training and Education after ZMA was granted Associate Status by the Midlands State University.
President Mugabe said such partnerships between the Defence Forces and institutions of higher learning were commendable as they added value to the quality of graduating officers from military training institutions.
“I recommend MSU for granting Associate Status to ZMA. I would like to see the relationship between these two institutions continue to blossom,” he said.
President Mugabe also chronicled the gruesome and challenging nature of the cadet course the world over, which often results in some of the candidates failing to make it to the graduation day. He said when the Regular Officer Cadet Course 3/27/09 commenced on 17 September 2009, it had 105 students, 67 of whom were recruited from the country’s 10 provinces in consonance with the fair and transparent recruitment policy. The remaining 38 were drawn from serving members of the Zimbabwe National Army.
“All over the world, the Regular Officer Cadet Course is regarded as the turning point in the life of an ordinary civilian, who through training, is transformed into a professional soldier. Because of its high standards, the course is therefore characterised by high drop out rates, as was indeed the case with the Regular Officer Cadet Course 3/27/09,” said the President.
Thirty-four students failed to withstand the gruelling demands of the course on the grounds of discipline. Some dropped because of ill health and two officer cadets, Arnold Nyakuruwita and Regina Daambacheka died during the course of their training programme. President Mugabe expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the two trainee officers.
The course, whose duration was 18 months, consisted of three distinct phases, which put significant emphasis on soldiering skills, conventional warfare and low-intensity warfare.
Its curriculum had as core content skills at arms, field craft and map reading, communications, command and leadership among other subjects.
The students visited the liberation war sites of Chimoio in Mozambique and Freedom Camp in Zambia as part of their Civil Military Relations package. President Mugabe expressed gratitude to Zimbabwe’s neighbouring countries.
“I believe the tours to the liberation war shrines enhanced the cadets’ understanding of Zimbabwe’s history, particularly, the tremendous sacrifices made to free our country and the crucial and invaluable roles played by Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Botswana during our liberation struggle,” he said.
Officer cadet Kudakwashe Mudare was the best student and received the Sword of Honour while the first runner up was Cadet Officer Reggie Mukanganwa who was presented with the Commander of the Army Award.
In third place was Cadet Officer Tauya Muvingi who received the ZMA Commandant’s Award.
Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Midlands Governor, Cde Jason Machaya, and Secretary for Defence, Mr Martin Rushwaya, service chiefs and other senior Government and civil leaders.