BY Kingsley Komla Adom
As part of activities to commemorate Ghana's 58th Independence Anniversary celebrations,the Ghana Armed Forces has held an open day event to among other things,deepen the civil-military relationship between the service and it's external publics and build confidence in the force among the civil populations of the country.
The event which is organized annually since the year 2000,provides an opportunity for the Ghana Armed Forces to expose members of the civil public to the professional equipment and expertise deployed by it,in the discharge of their constitutional mandate.
This year's edition -15th in the series since it's inception,was held across all garrisons on Saturday,7 March 2015,to climax the celebration of activities to mark 58 years of political independence.
The Ghana Air Force which is the aerial warfare organizational military branch of the Ghana Armed forces has over the years,witnessed scores of individuals thronging the Air Force Base to experience at first-hand,air-flight and the use of equipment at the base.
At this year's event,several hundreds of school children and adults were taken through a raft of activities including a photo exhibition - where participants were taken through their paces to acquaint themselves with workings in the service and some basic equipment,an opportunity of flying in one of the service wing's helicopters (MI 171),a tour of old,new and refurbished hangars at the base,which serve as a storage and maintenance facility for the aircraft and an open air-show by the K8 jets.
Quite apart from flying in the MI 171 helicopter,engineers on site and other officials lectured participants about the basic parts and components of the CASA C-295 aircraft as well as others used by the branches of the armed forces - Navy and Army,during the photo exhibition.
First female helicopter pilot in the Ghana Air Force and Officer commanding (OC) - number three squadron,Squadron Leader Selassie Agbenyefia,who was one of the pilots who flew the civilians said it was a regular activity the Air Force undertakes to form part of the Independence Anniversary,adding that it was open to all members of the public.
She noted that between 8:00 am and 10:00am,a good number of school pupils and a few adults had already been taken through all available experiences at the base.
Some 300 school pupils were flown at 500 feet towards the sea,over the labadi beach hotel to Teshie and back to base,within a five-minute sortie per batch.
The fear-cum-excitement on board the aircraft was evident as the pupils screamed at take-off until landing due to butterflies they had in their stomachs.
Each maneuver saw participants on board cheer to a rousing yell - turn after turn the pupils had the opportunity.Other members of the civilian public who could not get on the aircraft were treated to some magical air-show by three of the service aircraft to the excitement of the teeming crowd.
Participants who spoke to GAF News expressed satisfaction at having got the opportunity to partake in the event and advised their friends to come for the next edition - to learn and have fun.
"I really enjoyed myself,it was my first time on the helicopter and the experience has been fun,even though I was initially terrified by the sheer size of the aircraft - I'll entreat all other pupils to make it a point and come here next year," Pearl told GAF news.
Another participant was of the view the exercise was a learning opportunity for those who are
nurturing ambitions of taking up careers in the Ghana Air Force and other fields in aircraft technologies.
Officials described the exercise as largely successful and beneficial as it rekindled confidence in the military among the civil publics that they'll be able to guard the nation's airspace safely,even in the
face of increasing issues of crime and terror across parts of the continent.
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