Cynthia Thanda
Botswana National Stadium stood firm with beauty and warmth as people showed appreciation and love for the Botswana Defence Force as it celebrated its 46th anniversary on 20th May 2023.
The event was graced by His Excellency and Commander In-Chief of the Armed Forces Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi who exuded gratitude and happiness fir the military force.
Botswana Defence Force, which was formed in April 1977 by an Act of Parliament called the ‘BDF Act No. 13 of 1977, is just a marvel and inspiration to watch and learn from.
It is more than a military force trained to protect the nation against invasions. This can be seen through its major achievements of the enrollment of female officers and other ranks, establishment of defence command and staff college, peace support training centre and flying training school.
The BDF Day celebrations were disrupted in 2019 when Covid-19 hit the country and the world and activities had to be stopped. Therefore the return of the celebrations this year was finally a call of joy for Batswana.
The celebration consisted of many activities such as the parade which was led by the Military Band conducted by the bandmaster WOI NGONI and the Drum Major WOII MASALA. The parade was segmented into four parts.
There was the parade itself, the band, the colour party and the mounted guard. The drill which has always been part of the army representing physical courage, discipline, teamwork and flawless unison movements was a delight to watch.
The BDF Day presentation had a series of activities such as aerobics, BDF day ground lettering, un-armed combat (hand-to-hand combat, kata-defense techniques, weapon use and stalking techniques).
Batswana showed their strength in the civilian participation drill that had members of the general public taking part. This emphasised the BDF’s vision of a “people centric defense force.”
The Fly-Past which is a ceremonial flight of aircraft past a place had the stadium alive as the public screamed with excitement at witnessing the BDF Air Arm Command Aircraft formation.
The Fly-Past consisted of five aircraft, namely Global Express (commonly known as Glex), which is the presidential jet and it was under the captaincy of Lt. Col. Gaorutwe and Lt. Col. Godie as pilots.
The four Pilatus PC-7 trainer aircraft was piloted by Major Manyeagae and Captain Mholo, Falcon 2 piloted by Captain Lesotho and Lieutenant Tlhakakgolo, Falcon 3 piloted by Major Lobaka and Falcom 4 piloted by Major Tiro.
The event ended with the parachute demonstration by the BDF special forces regiment. The BDF special forces were dropping from an airborne CASA 235 aircraft with their parachutes at a height of 10 000 feet, that is just over 3000 meters above the ground.
The demonstration depicted one of the roles of Special Forces in airborne operations whereby they may be required to be inserted behind enemy lines.
