IPNews-Monrovia: Armed Forces of Liberia now has its first Senior Non-Commissioned Officer as Graduates from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

Command Sergeant Major, Cooper Manqueh, of the Armed Forces of Liberia recently graduated from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA), located in El Paso, Taxes, USA.

According to an AFL release, Manqueh’s enrollment at and graduation from USASMA marks the first occasion since the establishment of USASMA in 1972, for a Non-Commissioned Officer from the AFL at this prestigious institution.

The United States Army Sergeants Major Academy offers a Sergeant Major Course in a 41- week and 2- day period with an extreme academic and physical rigour.

This course is designed to prepare designated Non-Commissioned Officers to occupy positions of great responsibilities in their militaries.    The curriculum of the course consisted of military-oriented subjects, which included the followings: Reception, Integration, Individual and Organizational Behavior, Basic and Advanced Leadership Development, Bilateral Communications, National Military Strategy and Security Affairs, Resource and Training Management, Military Operations, and Contemporary Leadership Problems, among others.                                                                                                                                                             Cooper Manqueh also benefited from many Civil-Military Information Briefings, as well as from senior-level U.S. Government officials, and the U.S. Military Services. The U.S. Army Sergeant Major, Combatant Commanders, Command Headquarters Commanders, Retired Sergeants Major of the U.S. Army,

CSM Cooper Manqueh enthusiastically participated in Field Service Program (FSP) organized for International Students attending the academy. The FSP provided International Students with a balanced understanding of the U.S. Government’s Institutions, Society, Cultures, and Ideologies. Other areas of concern for the FSP included experimental learning experiences in the States and National Monuments, Points of Interest, and Governmental Buildings.

The students understood the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, Local, States, and Federal Government Institutions, Civil-Military Judicial  Systems, Political Process, Media, American Family and Community Life, Ethnic Diversity, Economy, Labor-Management Relations, Education, Public and Social Welfare Systems.

The Academy ran five departments during the six-semester school year: The Department of Professional Studies, the Department of Joint Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational, the Department of Army Operations, the Department of Force Management, and the Department of Command Leadership.

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In its continuous efforts to assist in the rebuilding process of the new Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), the United States Government, through its Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, is providing training opportunities abroad for the development of the AFL Non-Commission Officer Corps.

Earlier this week, Defense Deputy Director earns Masters in Military Science.

The Deputy Director for Public Affairs at the Ministry of National Defense, Junior A. Morris, has also returned to Liberia after obtaining a Master’s Degree of Military Science/ Strategic Studies from the National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army in Beijing, China.

Deputy Director Morris  who departed the country early last year  successfully delivered and  defended his dissertation on: “Counterterrorism in West Africa: Necessity for Multidimensional Cooperation.”

He also received honours certificate from the Academic Research Department of the National Defense University for enviable research on “Upholding the Community of Shared Future for Mankind: Multilateralism as China’s Contribution to Maintaining World Peace”.

The Ministry of National Defense Deputy Public Affairs Chief also obtained Certificate and the Symbol ‘ndu’ for completing the Defense and Strategic Studies Course (September 1, 2018 to July 24, 2019) from the International College of Defense Studies, National Defense University, and another certificate in Leadership Science and Strategic Management from the School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University.

Prior to these attainments, in 2011, Morris earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Public Administration from the University of Liberia. He holds several local and international certificates in Administration, Public Relations and Strategic Communication.

In 2005, Morris started his Civil Service career as an Office Assistant and later a Dispatcher at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. In 2007, after completing a vigorous and rigorous training in Public Affairs, he began as Staff Analyst for Community Relations at the Ministry of National Defense.  In September 2014, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Director for Public Affairs.

Deputy Director Morris is also a graduate of the Security Sector Reform Training Program conducted by the United States DynCorp International.

Deputy Director Morris has meanwhile extended thanks and appreciation to the administration of the Ministry of National Defense and People’s Liberation Army of the Republic of China for affording him the opportunity to academically advance himself. The knowledge attained, he said, has positioned him to contribute his quota to the forward march of the Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia.