Be a soldier first: Tikoitoga

Submitted by TemoL on Tue, 05/04/2011 - 6:40am

More than 300 members of the 3rd Battalion Infantry Regiment were told to “be soldiers first” before excelling in other aspects of their lives.

The Commander Land Force, Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga as reviewing officer made the order 3FIR soldiers during a parade at Queen Elizabeth Barracks this morning.

Col Tikoitoga told 3FIR soldiers: “We need to rethink who we are”.

“We need to keep in mind that we are soldiers more that anything else.

“There are many duties and activities that needs to be carried out for the betterment of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.

“As members of the 3FIR, you need to create and establish a platform for other units in the military that will bring about reliable reputation to the institution.

“All other units of the military play a supporting role while your role is to uphold the integrity of the RFMF,” Col Tikoitoga said.

Soldiers of the 3FIR were reminded of the need to remain physically, mentally and spiritually fit.

He also made a call for soldiers to be proud of the unit they are part of and the uniform they wear.

“This will enable us to serve our country and other nations well when called for peace keeping duties,” Col Tikoitoga said.

Commanding Officer of 3FIR Lieutenant Colonel Jone Kalouniwai was also at the launch of Sub-unit training programme.

“The programme is a three-month highly intensive training the unit will conduct periodically in order to elevate basic soldiering skills, unit cohesiveness and its level of preparedness,” Lt Col Kalouniwai told journalists.

“This is to lift our performance and our preparedness in case of any situation that may arise the dress worn by the troops will be battle-order.”