Ghana Military Academy

BRIEF HISTORY OF THEGHANAMILITARY ACADEMY

TheGhanaMilitary Academy (GMA) was established on 1 April 1960 after years of reliance on foreign Military Academies to commission potential Ghanaian Officers for theGhana Armed Forces. The Academy grew out of the Regular Officers Special Training Schools (ROSTS) which was established at MATS, Teshie, in 1953. This School provided six months preparatory training for selected cadets from the British West Africa colonies:- Nigeria, The Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and The Gambia, prior to their being sent to the UK or other overseas countries for further officer training and commissioning. Since its establishment, the Academy has produced over 3,000 Ghanaian Officers now serving in various capacities in the Armed Forces and in the country as a whole. The Academy has also trained cadets from some sister African countries, notably Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Benin th and The Gambia. The first commissioning ceremony was held on 30 September 1961 for 35 officer cadets. In 1961, the Ghana Government arranged for a joint Military Training Team from Britain andCanadato continue with training until suitably experienced and qualified Ghanaians were ready to take over. This assistance ceased in 1974. From then, the Academy was manned entirely by Ghanaian Staff until 1June 1984 when it was decided to modify the training syllabus in line with current trends in other renowned Military Academies. At the invitation of the Ghana Government, the British Government seconded one officer at a time for a duty tour of two years to assist the Ghanaian Staff to implement the revised course syllabus for the Regular Officer TrainingProgramme. The last of the officers of the British Military Assistance Team (BMAT) left in December 1994 to bring the 10-year training assistance to an end. The year 2010 marked a major watershed in the history of Ghana Military Academy when it celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary. Various events were undertaken to mark the occasion and these were climaxed with a Golden Jubilee Anniversary Parade which was reviewed by HE Prof JEA Mills, President and C-in-C of the Ghana Armed Forces. Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were three former Heads of State – Presidents Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and President JJ Rawlings of Ghana, all Alumni members. Another significant development has been the upward revision of the educational qualification for entry into the Academy from the minimum of Senior High School level to a minimum of a first University degree or a Higher National Diploma/Diploma. GMA continues to run two courses, namely the Regular Course and the Short Service Commission/Special Duties Course (SSC/SD). The duration of training has however been reviewed from 22 months to 15 months (for Regulars) and from 8 months to 6 months for SSC/SD in consonance with the above policy change.

MISSION

The mission of the GMA is to produce leaders of character for the defence of Ghana.

THE OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING IN THE GMA

To give the Officer Cadet a broad view of the military profession as a whole,

and his responsibility as a servant of his state.

To develop in the officer cadet the spirit of patriotism, loyalty to and love

for his nation.

To develop in the officer cadet the essential military characteristics of

leadership and management, sense of discipline and sense of duty.

To develop physical fitness in the officer cadet.
To lay down the foundation of military and academic knowledge upon

which the studies of future arms of Service can be built.

PROGRAMMESAND COURSES

THE REGULAR COURSE

The Regular Course is divided into two parts. These are the Standard Military Course (SMC) which is for a period of 3 months and the Regular Career Course covering a period of 12 months. The Regular Course therefore runs for a total of 15 months. The course now starts at the beginning of May and ends in

August the following year. The Regular Course is tri-Service during the SMC phase. The Army, Naval andAir ForceCadets continue with their appropriate special service training here in GMA after this phase. The Regular Career Course training includes 2 weeks of jungle training at the Jungle Warfare School at Achiase in the Eastern Region. The cadets also undertake a week of mountaineering at Amedzofe in the Volta Region. All graduating cadets of the Regular Course are granted Regular Commission into the Ghana Armed Forces.

THE SHORT SERVICE COMMISSION AND SPECIAL DUTIES COURSE

The Short Service Commission and Special Duties Course is a 6 month course run for direct entry Professionals and servicemen whose services are required by the Armed Forces as specialist officers. The course leads to a Short Service/Special Duties Commission in the Armed Forces. With the revised training regime, the course starts in February and ends in August the same year.

SPECIAL MEDICAL INTAKE

The training package is a compressed form or the Short Service Commission and Special duties Course. It involves twelve (12) weeks standard military training aimed at improving the military bearing, physical fitness, and leadership qualities among other virtues, in the officer cadets.

The training is made up of a four (4) week “Ginger” and an eight week post “Ginger” period. It includes classroom lessons and field exercises at Bundase, aburi Mountains, and the Michel Camp-Zenu-katamanso-Gbatsona general areas. Other tactical exercises are held in the Michel camp plains to rehearse the cadets in conventional Warfare. Introduction to jungle Operations is done at the Jungle warfare school at Achiase.

Barracks lessons covers tutorials in Drill, Fundamental officer Training, Leadership Training, Tactics, Physical Training, Skill at Arms, Field Craft, Service writing, Military Law, Map Reading, Voice Procedure, Organisation and Roles of the Ghana Armed Forces and Administration in Pace and War.

ACTIVITIES