President Paul Kagame has charged commissioned officers to be characterised by discipline while delivering military services. The Head of State made the remarks on November 4 while officiating the pass out of 568 officer cadets who graduated with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) at Rwanda Military Academy in Gako, Bugesera District. Of them, 515 are male and 53 are female. The graduating officers, joined by 24 who underwent training in partner countries, took a Commissioning Oath pledging allegiance to Rwanda and its leadership in protecting national sovereignty. Kagame, who is also the Commander in Chief of RDF, congratulated the officers for their conduct throughout the training period, “I have no doubt that you are ready and have all that is required to discharge your duty of protecting the nation.” “Joining this profession means protecting Rwandans, the country and the people, as well as the development,” Kagame told them. He noted that the officers are equipped with a skill-set of knowledge in diverse disciplines that enables them to fit in other professional roles beyond military service in the country and beyond. “They are ready for that and have been adequately trained. However, even fighting any war where necessary, requires knowledge,” he said. The academy offers seven programs including General Medicine, Engineering, Social and Military Science, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology. President Kagame tasked them to deliver on their duties while upholding discipline. “It would not make sense for you to spend all this time here training and then after you end up being dishonourably discharged or punished in any other way because of indiscipline,” he emphasized. Meanwhile, 475 officers were trained for one year while 93 are graduating after four years of both academic and military training. 2nd Lieutenant Calvin Kalisa said that the experience has been very educative and at the same time challenging. There is a saying that goes: to whom much is given, much expected. I've been given skills and knowledge so I'm really ready to serve the country in terms of the military services and also offer medical services at the same time. For 2nd Lt Aline Gahongayire, she said that her dream has always been to serve the country through the army. Anything is possible once you set your heart on it. I step forward in fulfilling my duties with patriotism. Founded in 2000, the Rwanda Military Academy has upheld high standards of academic and military training matching the global context to cope with contemporary security challenges and threats.
