Big Changes Under Vision for RFMF: Kalouniwai
Alot of changes are required for the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces to meet the Commander’s vision, says new Chief of Staff Colonel Ratu Jone Kalouniwai.
In an interview with SUN News yesterday, Colonel Kalouniwai said the Commander, Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto, had embarked on a vision for the RFMF and they were working towards it.
“As the new RFMF Chief of Staff I see there are so many issues within the RFMF that we want to strengthen and this includes the requirement of the defence white paper,” he said. Colonel Kalouniwai acknowledged the RFMF Commander for having confidence in him and giving him the responsibility.
“In any military organisation the chief of staff runs the HQ so his responsibility basically looks after how the HQ should function in accordance with what the Commander requires.
“In this case we have a lot of activities that are ongoing such as the defence white paper, the cooperation with so many foreign missions like the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and this requires a lot of coordination.”
He said this was how the role of the chief of staff fits in and he was there to coordinate all particular functions, which means meeting the Commander’s orders. “For me it’s a matter of how we start working together, synchronising the whole effort so that we can have a functional HQ that is able to build the RFMF for tomorrow and without that particular strong leadership in place things will not run at that pace, it will run at a mediocre pace,” he said.
Speaking of his experience in Golan Heights and the training needed to be implemented for the RFMF peacekeeping soldiers, Colonel Kalouniwai said training requirements taking place now for the soldiers was sufficient.
“We have a lot of offers from Australia, America, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and India, but it is also a matter of how we monitor that particular opportunity,” he said.
He said he had the opportunity to speak with the Commander, the HQ directors and senior officers.
“I have set down a plan and we are working towards it and one of the priorities we want to see in place is how we can complete the defence white paper for the RFMF and look forward to what we can do for the RFMF in the next few months and the future,” he said.
He confirmed that the refurbished military Bushmaster Protected Mobility vehicles have arrived safely in Beirut, Lebanon, enroute to the Golan Heights. They will be used to strengthen peacekeeping capacity. He thanked the Australian government and those who participated to get the project going.
“There is a lot of value we can get out of it (Bushmaster) in terms of monetary value which is something that has worked with the United Nation and with that in-place we can pay off the whole thing within the next five years or so,” he said.
“It’s a new capability for RFMF.”