By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The 177 Guards Battalion has won Nigerian Army Guards Brigade first quarter inter-unit map reading competition.
177 took the first position followed by 176 Guards Battalion, 102 Guards battalion third position, while 7 Guards Battalion came in the competition that held at Mambila barracks, Asokoro, Abuja.
The competition aim at enhancing troops understanding of map reading equipment and the usage of the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
The special guest of honour at the event Brigadier General Adekunle Onilenla, Deputy Director Intelligence, Defence Intelligence Agency, Abuja, commended the Brigade for the training and retraining of its officers and soldiers to meet contemporary security challenges.
He said: “Adequate knowledge of map reading is vital especially during tactical movement and manoeuver.
“Therefore, the importance of map reading cannot be overemphasised. Although, compasses are the primary navigational tools used in the Nigerian Army, advancement in technology has provided alternative navigational tools. One of such is the introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS) which is being used in the Nigerian Army. It is a general observation that only a few personnel of the Nigerian Army are conversant with the use of the device. It is on this premise that this map reading exercise has become necessary in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision of having ‘a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles’,” General Onilenla stated.
