New recruits to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force have been told to learn the art of soldiering during the opening of their Initial Employment Training last week.
More than 75 new recruits who passed out from Goldie Training Depot have been challenged by PNGDF Chief of Force Preparations, Colonel Sialle Diro, to take their training aggressively as this is their lifetime skill.
Colonel Diro made this statement last Monday at the 1st Royal Pacific Island Regiment in Port Moresby.
The new soldiers will go into 12 weeks of their Initial Employment Training (IET). They now complete the Bravo Company of the 1st Royal Pacific Islands Regiment.
Bravo Company has been one iconic company of the regiment. Soldiers who joined Bravo Company always go by their motto “We do it the hard way”.
“B Company is the most senior unit of PNGDFand what it does affects the whole of PNGDF. You must know that the soldiers who had gone before you did it the hard way. They had sacrificed their lives in line of duty.
"Their names are written in the Bravo Company Role of Honour and the Battalion Role of Honour. Therefore you must take your skills seriously. The skills you will learn will transform you from military personnel skills you learnt from Goldie into a real soldier for the next three months,” said Colonel Diro.
Colonel Diro also thanked the Australian Defence Force for their continuous support in ensuring that the course is now up and running.
First Royal Pacific Island Regiment Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Napiyo also challenged the new soldiers to take the training seriously, as this will set the set platform for their entire career.
(Picture: Bravo Company on parade and about to march off to their first class last Monday at Taurama Training Cell. Picture by Capt Barnabas Malken)