GDF completed exercise “IRONWEED”

Georgetown: The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) exercise “IRONWEED” culminated recently with the “Final Attack”, in the savannahs of the Colonel John Clarke Military School at Tacama.

Over 1500 troops participated in the 10-day exercise, which was designed to assess the Force’s operational capability and readiness in the Closed Country and Open Country warfare theatres.

Congratulating the troops following the exercise, Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Patrick West announced that the activity will be done on an annual basis. “In this Exercise, we have tested and assessed our coordination, synchronization, and standardization of (battle-ready) operational procedures,” he said. “We have demonstrated our capacity for mobilisation, deployment, concentration of force, battle procedure, fire and assault support, among other things. I am proud to announce that this is the first time that we have had so many troops involved in this type of exercise. This was because of the embodiment of more than 200 reservists from the Guyana People’s Militia,” he added. Brigadier West congratulated the Reservists, and noted that they understood their role. He expressed the hope that the lessons learnt would be implemented across their spectrum of training.

The Chief-of-Staff also noted that as the exercise continued each year, various adjustments to format and operational procedure would be initiated as necessary. This, he said, would be in keeping with the need to ensure sharper and more precise focus in battle-readiness and operational efficiency.