OPERATION CROCODILE SMILES: No Promotion For Officer Who Can’t Swim
Nigerian Navy personnel who cannot swim may find it difficult to get promotion, naval authorities have said.Outgoing commandant of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Quorra (NNS QUORRA) Commodore Francis Isaac said this during a farewell parade organised by officers and men of the school at the weekend.
Isaac explained that the directive was recently issued by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas.
“Vice Admiral Ibas recently promulgated an order that all personnel must be able to swim and acquire proficiency certificate that they can swim and it has become a criterion for promotion.”
The navy had, in 2014,commenced a compulsory training in swimming for its officers and ratings across the country.
The force had earlier expressed surprise that majority of its personnel in both senior and junior cadres do not know how to swim. The force said the move at instituting mandatory swimming for its service members was germane to reduce potential accidents and personnel casualties during operations. The authorities of the force said it would sustain the training programme until all service members and trainees’ are adequately trained.
However, Commodore Francis, who spoke after a parade mounted by 11 officers and 236 ratings of the NNS Quorra, explained that every training institution that must grow must device a means of tackling challenges that confront it. He added that the school had been able to come out with ways of tackling the various militant groups springing up in the Niger Delta.
He commended the institution for embarking on training of the Nigeria Police personnel on ways of tackling criminals at sea. He said the training was not easy, but the school under his leadership was able to tackle the problems that arose during the programme.
Commodore Francis said it is impracticable to attempt the history of the navy in regard to the role of the NNS QUORRA and noted that the school, as citadel of training and discipline and the moulding ground for great minds that works for the force, “it is therefore, apparent that, in line with the strategic objective of the Human Resource Development pillar of the revised Nigerian Navy Transformation plan 2011-2020 and the CNS strategic directives -1 2015; the onus of producing and sustaining a highly skilled and motivated manpower capable of effectively performing the constitutional and emerging roles of the Nigerian Navy lies on this institution.”
The outgoing Commandant said the school has been properly positioned to carry out its training functions for the Navy, especially in that area of training aids, including ship simulators, library and the commissioning of brand new electronic chart information display system.
