Accra, March 13, - The Ghana Navy
on Tuesday introduced the wearing of gorgets by senior naval officers to
clearly differentiate the ranks at a
ceremony at the Naval Headquarters in Accra.
A gorget is a crescent-shaped
piece of armour for protecting the throat.
The Naval ranks from captains to
admirals would wear the gorget at the tip of the collar of the uniform for
acknowledgement of their high office, as is being done by colonels and generals
and above in the Army and senior officers in the Air Force.
Gorget originated from the French
word 'gorge' meaning 'throat', which was part of a soldier's body armour. It
has since evolved to become an insignia worn by officers of specific seniority
in most modern armies especially those in the Commonwealth.
Lieutenant General Obed Boamah
Akwa, the Chief of Defence Staff, in a speech read on his behalf by Air Vice
Marshall Maxwell Mantsebi-Tei Nagai, Chief of Air Staff, said the uniforms
identified the officers as a community of servicemen and women.
He said the uniforms were
standardised for easy recognition among services in view of the accessories and
accoutrements attached to them.
Lt. Gen. Akwa said this would
help determine the status of the individual service personnel wearing them to earn
the appropriate courtesies and protocols.
He commended the Chief of the
Naval Staff and the entire Ghana Navy for the giant strides made towards
harmonising the dressing in the Ghana Armed Forces.
"I hope the introduction of
the gorgets will not only make it easy for all ranks, especially the Army and
the Air Force to accord the right courtesies to the Senior Naval Officers, but
will also raise the morale of the Ghana Navy Officers," he said.
Rear Admiral Peter Kofi Faidoo,
the Chief of the Naval Staff, said times had changed and the Ghana Navy needed
to change as well in line with contemporary practice.
Quoting the 19th Century Irish
Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, Rear Admiral Faidoo said: "Those who
cannot change their minds cannot change anything."
The Navy has, therefore, changed
its mind on the wearing of gorgets to bring progress, he said.
Major General William Azure
Ayamdo, the Chief of Army Staff, commended the Navy for the progressive change.
The ceremony was graced by
service chiefs and senior military officers.
GNA
No comments:
Post a Comment