Galebotswe to succeed Masire as BDF commander

The announcement was made by president Ian Khama yesterday when officiating at the officer cadet commissioning parade for intake 35 of 2012. Khama thanked the outgoing commander for the excellent service he has offered the nation, before announcing his successor. Galebotswe will take over as the new commander on August 1st. The nation now waits with bated breath to hear who is going to be appointed deputy commander when Galebotswe becomes the commander.

Meanwhile, president Khama told the graduating officer cadets that the presidential commission, which he bestowed on them yesterday has demanding responsibilities and obligations which officers must aspire for and meet. He expressed confidence in the quality of training the officers have been given at the Force Training Establishment Unit and asserted that they should be able to cope with the demands, commensurate with the commission. 'In the past, government approved the induction of female officer cadets into the BDF ranks; the reason being that we believe women can equally make and as a matter of fact have been making valuable contributions to the development of our nation in various capacities and the defence arena is no exception,' said Khama.

He also said that it is reassuring to observe that once again, there are some female officer cadets who have trained with their male counterparts locally. He said when BDF piloted the recruitment of female cadets, they were sent to Tanzania for training. He said that these officers and subsequent intakes who trained locally have since progressed within the officer corps and they are doing well in their military assignments as such he had no doubt that all of the officers who were graduating would cope with the challenges of leading their troops and the standards will never be compromised.

'I am pleased to note that Botswana has yet again accorded the opportunity to other sister states namely, Lesotho, Namibia and Mozambique to train here, the friendship or network forged amongst you is a lifelong one (boskwata - comradeship) which transcends all sorts of divide,' said Khama. Furthermore, Khama said the officers training in Botswana have not only afforded them the opportunity to make friends but also forged and enhanced bilateral and even regional collaboration. He said such interactions are necessary building blocks for regional integration, which will also play a pivotal role in regional coalitions and strategic partnerships in future security and defence related challenges. 

Of the 63 officer cadets who graduated yesterday, 27 of them were female.  Out of the 63, four officers were from Lesotho and one of them was female.  Namibia and Mozambique had two officers each, all male. Meanwhile, senior under officer Mogorosi was given an award of leadership, while under officer Gaotlhobogwe was given a distinguished honour graduate award and junior under officer Tsimako was given the motivated officer award. The commandant's award was given to officer cadet Otukile, while the best international student award was taken by officer cadet Khoabane from Lesotho.