Papua New Guinea Defence Force Officer on UK defence scholarship

A senior officer from the PNGDF will leave for the United Kingdom this weekend to undertake a seven-week course funded by the British government.

Commander Tau Ila of the PNG Defence Force will attend the ‘Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context’ course at the Cranfield University in the UK from March 9 to April 24.

The high level international course is designed to expand a senior officer's knowledge and understanding of the skills required to run a modern, effective and efficient military in a globalised world – especially the military's relationship with a democratically-elected civilian executive and its promotion of transparency and good governance.

In wishing Commander Ila a safe trip to the UK the British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, said:

“It is extremely important that senior military officers from around the world are able to come together to share best practice and compare working methods. Modern military forces need to be up to date with the latest thinking to ensure that they are able and equipped to deliver the quality of defence services expected of them and meet the new challenges ahead in what is a rapidly changing world.”

Commander Ila’s departure comes six months after PNGDF colleague Lt Col Mark Goina completed an international staff course at the UK Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS).

It also builds upon the very successful visit to PNG in October last year of senior international military officers from the RCDS in which they visited Port Moresby, Madang and Goroka.

The Cranfield University’s Defence College of Management and Technology is one of three main colleges of the UK Defence Academy, the others being the RCDS and the Joint Services Command and Staff College.