United States Army Sergeant Major Michael Woods, who is also the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, has said he is impressed with progress the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has made at its sergeant major academy.
He was speaking on Tuesday during a digital press briefing on the sidelines of the Fifth United States Africa Command (Africom) Senior Enlisted Leader Conference, which is taking place in Lusaka, Zambia.
“We’re proud of the progress Malawi has made in their sergeant major academy. In their most recent course, they graduated 41 non-commissioned officers, including 12 non-commissioned officers from eight different countries across Africa. They’ve also graduated their first female sergeant major, who is currently attending the US Army Sergeant Major Academy in Fort Bliss, Texas,” Woods said.
He said the graduates are a shining light for Africa and are an example of how things can be done at the sergeant-major level.
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Woods said this comes after, in November and December 2022, US and Malawi Army instructors met in Malawi to discuss courses to be offered at the Malawi Armed Forces College to provide foundational training for non-commissioned officers in the army.
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On his part, US Africa Command General Mike Langley said the conference mirrors the annual Africom Chiefs of Defence Conference, where they share best practices, strengthen relationships and discuss issues of mutual interest.
“This conference was designed to allow meaningful and practical discussions on how to better address our mutual challenges and opportunities. That includes everything from crisis response, rule of law, protecting natural resources to ways [through which to mitigate] the many factors that cause instability,” Langley said.
He further said a strong, professional non-commissioned officer corps is the true backbone of any military in the world.
Meanwhile, MDF spokesperson Emmanuel Mlelemba has commended the US for the support it has rendered to the MDF and said the academy is ready to offer the best training as the sergeant major academy of all countries.
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“We are proud of the recognition of the sergeant major academy. This means MDF is doing well as far as training senior non-commissioned sergeant officers at the academy is concerned,” he said.
MDF Commander General Paul Valentino Phiri recently said he wants a professional force where merit rules.
He said only through professionalism can officers contribute to security efforts not just in Malawi but abroad.
The conference was the first of its kind to be held on the continent of Africa, and the purpose of the conference was to learn from senior enlisted leaders as they continue strengthening partnerships across the continent.
Over 120 participants from 27 African nations attended the conference
