Being of sound mind and body is of paramount importance when one is part of the military.
That was the message reiterated by PNG Defence Force Chief of Operations, Colonel Siale Diro, when recently announcing another year of commitment to physical fitness.
It was a dull day and only a handful of PNGDF personnel from the headquarters turned up in their sporting attire to kick off another year of improving physical fitness.
Even though most of these men and women are engaged in office work, being in a military institution means physical fitness should be second nature.
This was emphasised by Colonel Diro.
He reminded the small group of the activities they will be engaging in this year and the importance of physical training to these events.
“It is the physical training which is the cornerstone of our preparations,” stated Colonel Diro.
“This year, it is even more important that we prepare ourselves for all that we will do this year; the operational commitments in particular, which APEC is front and centre, deployment in the Highlands Region, assisting police and operations at border.”
He urged them to commit themselves to training following the previous year’s schedule where Tuesdays and Thursdays were dedicated to physical training, Wednesdays were sports days while first Fridays of every month were the Commander’s Walk, which was usually a 15km of walk or march.
“We must be physically sound to meet challenges this year.”
(The PNGDF Commander’s Walk last year)