Seelo receives prestigious military award
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday February 27, 2023 06:00
Seelo will be the second BDF senior officer after retired Lieutenant General, Louis Matshenyego Fisher, former BDF Commander to be inducted to the USAWC International Fellows Hall of Fame.
The American body honours USAWC international graduates who have attained, through merit, the highest positions in their nation’s armed forces or who have held an equivalent position by rank or responsibility in a multinational organisation. The international event will be held at Carlisle City, Pennsylvania.
Quizzed about the honour, the visibly elated Seelo told Mmegi: “I really cannot describe the degree of pride and the amount of respect for having been inducted into the US Army War College International Hall of Fame. It’ a game changer in my career.”
Although this is a personal recognition, Seelo is adamant that in the grand scheme of things, “it puts Botswana and the BDF on the world map and it will forever go in the annals of history.”
He further indicated that the US Army War College has unparalled reputation of developing critical thinkers and preparing them for the challenges of leadership at the strategic level.
“This is the level that as Ground Forces Commander, I operate at,” he emphasised.
Acting Defence Attaché at the US Embassy in Botswana, Jacob Abrami, wrote a memorandum to the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Commander Placid Segokgo recently announcing Seelo's selection for the honour.
The memorandum reads in part: “This prestigious honour will be bestowed due to his excellence serving as the BDF Ground Forces Commander. Seelo will be honoured during the African Alumni Symposium (AAS) in an official ceremony.”
Seelo joined the BDF in 1986 as an officer cadet and commissioned in 1987. After commissioning, he went through a series of training within and outside the country.
“Throughout my career, I have been commanding soldiers at all levels of command. I rose through the ranks from Second Lieutenant until my current rank of Major General and was appointed the Grounds Forces Commander,” reads Seelo’s bio.
The last course Seelo attended was at the United States Army War College, a 12-month course, where he and others were prepared for the challenges of leadership at a strategic level.
It was after the course that he was selected for the international Hall of fame. He was selected because of his excellent service as the BDF Ground Forces Commander.
The criteria are that one should have excellently served in the highest command position, from Ground Forces in his case to BDF Commander in the case of General Fisher.
The nominee should have passed the course and that one should have excellently commanded at the level of ground forces, like in Seelo’s case or at the level of commander BDF, in the case of General Fisher.
The US Ambassador or any senior official may do nomination from the US.
The nominee will then provide a summary of his or her bio-data and his military service. All these will then be sent to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Army for concurrence and clearance by the Department of Defence and also by the Department of State.
After the final approval by the US Army Commander, the US Army War College, will inform the nominating agency, requesting that they obtain approval from both the host government and the nominee to accept the induction. This approval process, takes minimum five to six months. Meanwhile, information sourced from the USAWC International Hall of Fame shows that honouring of military men started with six foreign students in 1978, the programme now sustains over 40 International Fellows (IFs) per year. Usually, only one IF per representative country per academic year participates in the programme. The fellows programme was established in 1978 and the first induction into the IF Hall of Fame took place in 1988. Inductees are awarded in person at Carlisle Barracks. Since its inception, over 1,900 international fellows graduate from 130 countries have been part of the fellows programme.