NAVY CAPTAIN ATONFACK GUEMO: « DISCIPLINE: Major strength and asset of the Armed Forces »

EDITORIAL OF 20 JANUARY 2024 

“Discipline… Discipline… Again and always discipline… Whether behavioural or operational. Beyond the physical condition of servicemen and servicewomen, beyond their mastery of the profession, beyond the power of their weapons, it is discipline which is the major strength of any army.

Emphasising, hammering home and repeating this principle is neither excessive nor redundant. Especially not in the tumultuous security context in which we find ourselves. It is one in which the treacherous and capricious enemy exercises no apprehension in committing the most despicable criminal acts against civilians. It is obvious that in such a scenario, only the discipline they demonstrate makes it possible to distinguish between soldiers under institutional command and bands of armed renegades exercising faith only in plunder, who have no other law than that of massacre.

For their recipients, who are the soldiers of the Cameroonian Defence Forces, the reminders to observe discipline, reiterated many times by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, are intended as permanent instructions. In this spirit which is none other than a reflection of the will of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, any security action, whether territorial or environmental, only makes sense if it is carried out with respect for the physical integrity and morality of people and property. In its essence, therefore, this resolutely humanist position irrevocably repudiates, as well as firmly condemns, even the very idea of ​​collateral damage. The human person is indeed too sacred to be measured in terms of profit and loss.

Of course, being a soldier is difficult. Admitting this is tantamount to revealing an obvious truth. What could be more difficult than flushing out a double-faced enemy, for whom the people are a target, at the same time as they serve as a refuge?

However, to fight one needs to understand what is at stake. In this case, it is about our survival as a State, People and Nation. Fighting requires knowing how to identify and assess the enemy, in its nature, its volume, its weaponry, its operating methods and its objectives.

Regarding kinetics, fighting requires knowing how to tame the potential for disaster that a weapon represents. Fighting also and above all requires knowing how to respect non-combatants and vulnerable persons. Finally, and from a perspective specific to our country, fighting also entails actively participating in the incessant quest for common development.

This is where the meaning of commitment lies, the meaning of the word given, which is ultimately only the expression of a conviction firmly anchored in the minds of those who commit under the flag of Cameroon. For all this, no breach of discipline can therefore prosper, much less be tolerated. /-”