The maiden joint exercise for National Defence College and War Colleges in the country on national defence strategy commenced on Monday, in Abuja.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, declared open the event Code named “Exercise Grand Nationale”.
Irabor said scholars had described the current security environment as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, hence the need for both strategic and operational level engagement.
According to him, the exercise is organised to see how best to address the challenges.
“It is a global problem of which Nigeria is a part, because the environment is such that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
“So, these problems and future ones to come are what this exercise is intended to address.
“So that the officers or the individuals who will be charged with these responsibilities will be able to know what to do and where the cross cutting concentrations will be.
“That is exactly what this exercise stands for,” he said.
The Commandant, NDC, Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir, said the exercise was a significant milestone in the life of the colleges and the Nigerian armed forces at large.
Bashir said the security challenges facing the country were constantly evolving as such addressing it required seamless joint operation to keep pace with the evolution of those threats.
He said it was in such light that training institutions must continually be forward thinking and innovative in the execution of training mandates.
He said that the Exercise Grand Nationale was originally designed to provide participants with relevant exposure and skills to articulate national security interests.
It was also for them to consider power attributes and valued preferences when making strategic defence plans, and review of security and defence policies.
He added that the exercise would give the NDC and the services war colleges the opportunity to synchronize their activities at strategic and operational levels of command.
Bashir expressed optimism that the joint training would boost cooperation and interoperability between the operational and strategic levels of military operations.
He added that the joint exercise would enhance the capability of the participants to operate across the full spectrum of joint military operations. (NAN)
