James Kon
Acting Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Brigadier General Dato Seri Pahlawan Saifulrizal bin Abdul Latif underscored the importance of education and training in the military in his closing remarks at the inaugural Southeast Asia Conference of Commandants yesterday at the Defence Academy Royal Brunei Armed Forces’ (DA RBAF) Auditorium.
The acting commander said, “DA RBAF remains a core pillar in the systematic development of intellectual capacity to produce strategic leaders and thinkers of tomorrow in building the future of RBAF through initiatives that further professionalise military education for the force”.
“Our military must be intellectually prepared and ready. We are all aware of the dynamic challenges and unpredictable security threats. Moreover, the accelerated pace of advancements in science and technology is also redefining current threats which constantly challenge the nation’s capacities to manage them,” he added.
In facing these challenges, he highlighted, “Education is key in ensuring that officers possess knowledge necessary to comprehend the dynamics of a contemporary operating environment. The ability to think critically and creatively plan appropriate responses will result in more effective postures to these contemporary and real-time threats.”
Certificates and mementos were presented to the heads of defence universities and military academies who participated in the conference.
The event concluded with a video presentation and a group photo session. Southeast Asia Conference of Commandants is hosted by DA RBAF and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. RBAF deputy service commanders, military and civilian directors, defence attaches/advisers, representatives from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) as well as officers from the RBAF also attended.
The two-day conference was a platform for heads of defence universities/military academies from countries in the region to exchange dialogue and best practices in military education as well as to enhance cooperation, especially between military higher learning institutes.
Militaries globally including the RBAF are expected to provide robust defence solutions to mobilise people and organisational resources for action.
This has resulted in an increasing focus on education and the role of research.
For the Sultanate, this priority was clearly articulated in the latest Defence White Paper 2021, outlining the need to fulfil RBAF’s strategic roles in enhancing military operational output through coherent force capability development in the areas of training and education.
