So far so good at Togalevu

Government’s plan to increase the strength of the Fijian Navy is on track, judging by what the Fiji Sun observed yesterday morning. By mid-morning yesterday, the 79-member recruit contingent had just ended an exercise involving the use of ammunition.

The proceedings at the Togalevu Naval Training Base, in Veisari, outside Lami, looked orderly, an air of self-discipline was prominent in what transpired before us.

The young men and women, some covered in mud and sweat, sat in groups of 10 or 12, cleaning their equipment before returning these to the armoury. The recruits, 26 of them young women, looked lean, fit and healthy.

In fact, there were times when it was tricky to distinguished between male and female recruits, just by the haircut.

Then the training officer in-charge looked around and randomly chose four – two male and two female candidates to be interviewed by the Fiji Sun.

The recruits are into the seventh week of their 13week basic recruitment training.

At the end of the fourth interview, it was evident that the recruits were over the worst and looking forward to the second half of the gruelling training course. One of the male recruits interviewed hailed the Government initiative to recruit more women into the navy. His assessment was that the male recruits were providing ample morale support for their female counterparts.

Earlier, Navy Commander Captain Humphrey Tawake said after the 13th week, their skills would be identified before being assigned to specific areas in the navy. “Some will be in the kitchen, in the engineering department and administration,” the navy commander had said.

For prerequisites, the qualification for the women, Captain Tawake had said, would be the same as their male counterparts.

The inclusion of women in the navy is being hailed as a positive development.

Some will be in the kitchen, in the engineering department and administration, Captain Humphrey Tawake Navy Commander