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Central Command

The presence of the military throughout the country is felt long ago. The 2016 Budget Statement, page 143, paragraph 789, states : “ GAF is undergoing restructuring to ensure that there is a military barracks in every region. The Army is currently based in six out of the 10 regions of the country and being reorganized from two to three commands i.e. the Southern Command (Headquarters in Accra), Central Command (Headquarters in Kumasi) and Northern Command (Head-quarters in Tamale).

The formation of the Central Command would have Kumasi and its environs under its command which would minimize the burden on Northern Command which had the Northern Region, Upper East and Upper West regions under its command. This would put the Armed Forces in a better position to address challenges and security related issues in these areas.

The six regions that had military presence as of 2016 were known; the remaining four are the Upper East, Upper West, Central and Eastern Regions. These are the four regions that we do not have military presence. These regions also have serious problems or threats. It is not factually correct that there was no military presence in the Upper East and Upper West Regions. In the Upper East Region, there was the Basoa Camp where military personnel are stationed, with plans to actually upgrade it into barracks. In Wa, which is in the Upper West Region, there was the Air Borne Force detachment, which has been stationed there for five years now. And there were plans to also turn the Air Borne Force base there into a barracks unit.

As part of the re- structuring and modernisation of the military, Government programmed to establish a Forward Operating Base at Jomoro in the Western Region. Government also thought of establishing Military Engineer Barracks at Kintampo.

The process of acquisition of land, site preparation and drawings for the Forward Operation Base in Jomoro in the Western Region and for the engineer barracks in Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region, would be completed. The Ministry would also complete the ongoing Ghana Armed Forces Housing Project.

The Central Military Command and 4th Battalion Brigade Infantry in Kumasi pleaded with the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) in November 2014 for assistance in infrastructural facility to help them operate effectively in the maintenance of law and order. The Command complains of irregular flow of water, following cuts in road network in the area by construction works at the Sofoline Interchange affecting mobile phones, fax machines, Internet and landlines.

The sportsmen of women from the Support Services Brigade, Southern Command, Northern and Central Command making one team and the Army TRG Command-Non Scoring competed in September 2015 in the various events such as football, basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, athletics, table-tennis, cross country, tug-of-war and swimming.

In all, four wreaths were laid amid the rendition of traditional dirges by the military band on 11 NOvember 2015. The first was by the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Kojo Bonsu, on behalf of the President and people of Ghana. Brigadier-General Joseph Adu-Boampong, General Officer Commanding, Central Command, Baffour Owusu Asare Amankwaatia V, Bantamahene, and ex-Warrant Officer Aboagya Da-Costa of the Veterans Administration of Ghana (VAG) laid the rest. On parade were contingents from the army, police, prisons, fire and immigration service, customs and excise division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the VAG. As the clock struck 1100 hours, the siren wailed, to recall the exact hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, when the guns fell silent and hostilities in World War One, ended.

Central Command has a long history dating from the 1940s. The Command was first formed as 2 West African Infantry Brigade in the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, as part of the 82nd West African Division in 1940, for operations in the Second World War. The first commander was a British officer named Brigadier Richards. Its major units were 1, 2 and 3 Gold Coast Regiments; (now 1, 2 and 3 Battalions of Infantry in the Ghana Army). The Brigade, as part of the 82nd West African Division, sailed to East Africa in June 1940, and for 14 months saw action in Abyssinia and Uaddara.

The Brigade returned to the Gold Coast in 1941 only for a brief spell of time. In October 1942, it embarked on yet another external operation to the Gambia to counter the threats of the French forces on the borders of that territory. The Brigade returned to the Gold Coast in 1943 after the operations in the Gambia.

In April 1944, during the peak of the Second World War, the Brigade was moved to Southeast Asia where it took part in the famous Burma campaigns. It is very important to note that this Brigade contributed tremendously to turn defeat into victory for the allied forces in Southeast Asia. The Brigade remained operational until the end of hostilities in 1945, and was disbanded in 1946.

On 22 July 1960, the nucleus of 2 Infantry Brigade Group Headquarters was formed out of the units that had been deployed to ONUC (UN Operations in the Congo ( now Democratic Republic of the Congo) as the Ghana Congo Brigade. T/Brigadier JE Michel, until then CO 2 Infantry Battalion, was appointed Acting Commander of the Ghana Congo Brigade. In the Congo, the Brigade operated in the Leopodville and Kasai provinces. In late April 1961, the Brigade HQ was re-designated HQ 2 Ghana Infantry Brigade Group, Luluabourg. In June the same year, this formation was re-designated HQ 1 Infantry Brigade Group and another HQ 2 Infantry Brigade Group was provisionally formed in Accra, probably under Brig Tadman, CBE, DSO, King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

On 1 October 1962, the new 2 Infantry Brigade Group was formally established in Kumasi and fully incorporated into the Ghana Army under the command of Brigadier NA Aferi, the first Ghanaian brigade commander. The HQ was located at the offices of the present Ashanti Regional Development Corporation in Kumasi. Its initial major units were 3 Inf Bn located at Kaladan Barracks, Tamale; 5 Inf Bn at Kamina Barracks, Tamale; Parachute Battalion at Airport Ridge, Tamale and the Armed Forces Recruit Training Centre at Uaddara Barracks, Kumasi.

The HQ moved to its present location at Idris Barracks, which was originally the European Hospital in Kumasi before it became the Kwadaso Camp. The camp is named after late WO1 Idris of 48 Engr Regt who was shot dead in 1983 during an abortive attempt to overthrow the Revolution of 31 December 1981.

The Brigade’s logo was adapted from the 82 West African Division. This consists of two crossed spears passing through an African head-pad with the inscription “Through Our Carriers We Fight”, all against a yellow background. The motto and the logo as a matter of fact recognise the vital role played by the auxiliary groups of the Brigade in Burma. Personnel of the auxiliary group carried very heavy loads on their heads in the traditional African style, enabling the Brigade Group to move through very dense jungle and mountainous country, a task which most non-African brigade groups could hardly accomplish.

In March 2000 the formation was re-designated Northern Command and the first General Officer Commanding the Command (GOC) was Maj Gen HK Anyidoho. The Command consisted of two major units – 3 Inf Bn at Liberation Barracks, Sunyani; 4 Inf Bn in Complex and Uaddara Barracks in Kumasi; There is also 2 Armoured Recce Squadron stationed in Sunyani. The support arms and services are 2 Sig Sqn, 2 MT Coy, 2 Fd Wksp, 2 Fd Amb and 2 FOC. These are all located in Kumasi.

As part of the Ghana Army, Central Command has contributed personnel for internal and external operations. Internally, it has been involved in all military exercises, operations and nation-building tasks. Under Op GONGONG, the Command has helped restore law and order to the Dagbon conflict zone. Working with the Civil Police, the Command continues to provide security to the populace.

Externally, personnel from the Command have participated in ECOMOG missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and UN missions in the Sinai, Afghanistan, Iran, Kuwait, Western Sahara, South Lebanon, Cambodia and Rwanda. The 3 Inf Bn from the Command was one of two battalions from Ghana that fought to break the siege laid by the forces of Charles Taylor on Monrovia in 1990. It was the same battalion that provided sanctuary to Kigali during the carnage in Rwanda in 1994. During Op OCTOPUS in Liberia in 1992, the 4 Inf Bn was in action to halt the rebels from making incursions into Monrovia from the Buchanan-Robertsfield International Airport (RIA) axis. The 6 Inf Bn ventured into unknown territory as the first Ghanaian unit to Sinai in 1974 and also to Cambodia in 1992.