NAF establishes directorate of veteran affairs

In a bid to stimulate better welfare packages for Nigerian Air Force (NAF) veterans and their families, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has approved the establishment of the Directorate of Veteran Affairs.

A statement by NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet Friday, said the CAS disclosed this while declaring open a 2-day Conference for NAF administrative and medical personnel.

He said the new Directorate, domiciled under the administration branch, will also be responsible for interfacing with similar structures in sister Services towards harnessing necessary benefits for NAF retirees under existing federal government programmes for veterans, among other responsibilities.

In his opening remarks, Air Marshal Amao noted that the NAF considers the state of physical and mental well-being of its personnel, which he described as an important factor in the sustenance of morale, a force multiplier in ensuring operational effectiveness.

He said that the strength of any armed Service is not determined by the strength of its arsenal, but also by the professionalism of its workforce, which is largely bolstered through robust human resource management.

According to him, in the last 2 months, the NAF had launched the Telemedicine portal to ensure access to prompt medical attention, whilst promoting confidence in NAF medical services for enhanced morale and productivity of personnel.

He stated further that the outcome of such innovations would stimulate NAF human resource management efforts to be at par with global organizational standards and best practices.

Air Marshal Amao challenged participants to critically assess areas where the NAF was lacking as regards personnel welfare and administration and come up with workable solutions to mitigate effects on the Service’s operational capabilities.

“As a highly technical Service that deals with sophisticated aircraft, equipment and military hardware, maintaining a highly skilled, efficient, healthy and motivated workforce should be the hallmark of our daily activities. To this end, we will continue to epitomize best human resource management practices to promote our operational effectiveness”, he said.

Speaking earlier, the Air Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Mahmud Madi, had said that the timing for the conference was apt, considering the strategic importance of the human resource in achieving organizational goals and objectives.

He  also stated that the NAF has invested hugely in human capacity development and personnel welfare in recent years which has translated to tangible gains in NAF operational conducts.