The General Officer Commanding (GOC) Southern Command, Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Isaac Nicholas Paintsil, has officially inaugurated a 2-week induction training course for the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) company deployed to the Command Headquarters on Wednesday 16 July 2025.

In his remarks, Brigadier General emphasised that training remains the bedrock of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF); hence, troops must train consistently to be adequately prepared to respond to security challenges.

He stated that the purpose of the RDF is to serve as a reserve force at the behest of the GOC, ready to deploy at the shortest notice in response to operational emergencies. This, he explained, underscores the need for troops to undergo intensive training in preparation for their six-month tour of duty at the Command Headquarters.

Brig Gen Paintsil urged the troops to remain professional and highly motivated at all times to contribute to the success of the Higher Command and the nation as a whole. He further admonished personnel to strictly observe military regulations and avoid actions that could tarnish the image of the Ghana Armed Forces, such as unauthorised operations, serving as private bodyguards, land guard activities, robbery, and recruitment fraud, among others.

The training programme is designed to equip the RDF company with the requisite skills and capabilities to operate effectively when called upon to respond to any crisis or security situation within the Southern Command’s Area of Operational Responsibility (AOR).

The 2-week course will cover lessons in rules of engagement, cordon and search, weapon training, voice procedure, basic first aid, physical training, and crowd dispersal, among others. A Basic Fitness Test (BFT) and a Test on Elementary Training (TOET) will also be conducted as part of the course to assess the troops' knowledge and physical readiness for the upcoming tour of duty.