Air Force welcomes home 55 soldiers from MINUSMA

The 55 soldiersm, who were away for a year on peacekeeping mission duty, have returned home following the successful completion of a request by the UN to provide tactical military air transport services in support of MINUSMA.
At a parade, dubbed ‘Mission Accomplishment Parade’, held on the premises of the air force base to officially welcome back the officers from the peacekeeping operation, Director-General of the International Peace Support Operation, Brigadier General Abubakari Issahaku, lauded the efforts of the gallant officers.
He stated that in spite of the numerous challenges in the area of operation, the officers exhibited professionalism, commitment and hard work to provide air transport services to the UN Mission in Mali.
Among the numerous tasks the unit performed, he enumerated, were administrative and logistic support flights, VIP and VVIP flights, cargo resupply, troops in section and instruction, patrols observation, troop movements, tactical airlift, air recognisance, casualty evacuation, and medical services.
Brigadier General Issahaku noted that the Ghana aviation unit distinguished itself creditably and that the high performance was widely acknowledged throughout the mission.
Brigadier Gen. Issahaku indicated that barely a month into its operations, the troops were requested to relocate to Gao – the northern part of Mali – and this relocation was completed in October 25, 2016 and flying activities commenced immediately.
The MINUSMA GHV3 commander, Group Captain Yaw Cole, in an address, said there was no casualty, even though they flew into areas that were under threat of missile attacks.
He said by the time they left the mission, they had carried close to about 15,000 passengers and 330 tonnes of cargo.