President David Granger yesterday urged 11 newly commissioned Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Officers, to honour the laws of the country as well as their responsibility to Guyanese.
The Ministry of the Presidency said that the President made these remarks at State House, during the Commissioning Ceremony, where he presented the Officers with their Instruments of Commission.
The Officers are among 14, who successfully completed the Standard Officers Course (SOC) No. 49 out of a total of 36, who had initially joined the course.
Also included in this group were two officers from Belize and one from Antigua and Barbuda.
The President charged the Officers to observe the GDF’s five core values: duty, discipline, identity, integrity and loyalty.
The Commander-in-Chief described the ceremony as one of the most sacred that the officers will ever attend in their military careers, and that it would be one that they remember for the rest of their lives.
“This course is an important rite of passage. It is an ancient ritual and in armies all over the world, officers are commissioned and this commission distinguishes them from other ranks… The Instrument of Commission signifies that the officer is not just a commissioned officer but he has special responsibilities to perform,” he said.
Following the Ceremony, the officers were treated to lunch with the President in the Baridi Benab at State House.