TANAH JAMBU, Thursday, 30 December 2021 – An insightful sharing session was held today for Officer Cadets of Intake 20 with the Guest of Honor, Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat. Present alongside were Chief of Staff RBAF, Acting Commandant of Defence Academy, Commanding Officer of Officer Cadet School, Officers and Officer Cadets of Intake 20. It took place at the Auditorium, Defence Academy and conducted in compliance with the guidelines stipulated by Ministry of Health.
In his session, the Guest of Honor emphasized the main points being: security, common challenges in RBAF, equal opportunities for male and female personnel, observing fitness, and being diligent in maintaining one’s faith in their everyday life.
Security is imperative in the RBAF and all new officers should be wary in sharing any type of information to avoid unnecessary over-sharing. In addition to that, some pertinent issues in the RBAF were touched on by the Guest of Honor, namely drug misuse, sexual harassment and financial mismanagement. To combat this, the Guest of Honor advised the future Officers to be aware of any telltale signs that might hint at these social issues and to encourage and motivate them especially spiritually before it gets out of hand. Equal opportunity for both genders within the RBAF was likewise highlighted, especially in the changes that has been made so far in terms of infrastructure and opening up job postings that were not available before especially for female Officers.
Furthermore, the importance of maintaining good fitness is stressed especially after commissioning from OCS. It is strongly recommended that the Officer Cadets are to lead their subordinates through fitness capability and to not take it lightly throughout their career. Additionally, for the Muslim Officer Cadets, they were reminded to always be diligent and to improve their spirituality in their everyday lives to assist them through any hardships that they might face.
One key take-away point that the Guest of Honor stated was to “Leave footprints wherever you go”, by analysing what needs to be improved wherever the Officer Cadets may be posted and finding the initiative to make productive changes.
Lastly, the Guest of Honor reminded the Officer Cadets to maintain and improve their discipline and standards as soon-to-be commissioned Officers. He continued on with congratulating them for completing their vigorous one-year training in OCS. The session was then concluded with the recital of Doa Selamat and protection against COVID-19.
