The Benguema Parade Hullaballoo! Proof, if needed, of the real and present danger presented to Sierra Leone and its institutions by the mix of blind partisanship and ignorance. President Bio’s wife had gone down the line of officer cadets and participated in getting them commissioned. Had the first lady breached protocol?

Posts on these pages convinced me many of the contributors had little or no understanding of what the parade was about. How many knew what getting commissioned into the armed forces means? Did they try to understand what makes the forces work? How many of them even cared? So many “experts” had achieved not a lot more than to remind me of the Bible thinking Bob Marley used in ‘Forever Loving Jah’ to tell us “only a fool leans upon his own misunderstanding”. It got annoyingly boring before deep concern gripped me after an obvious fan of the President told us Mrs Bio was acting on invitation from her husband who “is the president and can do whatever he likes”. I immediately recalled the many examples of bombastic and nauseating sycophancy which through the decades had allowed leaders to do as they liked to whoever they didn’t like whenever they liked.

Context should aid understanding of why non-biased minds with knowledge of the military were more likely to raise eye brows as the parade dust settled and the political dust rose.

“Only the Regimental Sergeant Major and God can walk across the parade square; and even God usually asks the RSM for permission”. That was how I was told nearly thirty years ago that a parade square is beyond special; it is hallowed turf. I now know that the parade square is a place for symbolism and traditions understood and deeply respected by the men and women whose “noises” and dust-raising movements give the admirable displays of coordination and discipline. More importantly, I know it isn’t made-up stuff. Activities on the parade square come out of deep thought, lots of work, unquestionable respect for the institution and state, and absolute obedience.

The “march off”, “march past”, or “march on”; orders to “halt”, “advance”, “retire” or “move to the left and right”; the “left turn”, “right turn”, “about turn” or the impressive “advance in review order”. None of these or the many other commands heard on the parade square happen by chance. They are the stuff of the drill manual; a door-stopping document designed to get men and/or women to instinctively move as formed and orderly bodies in reaction to distinct words of command. The number of steps/paces in the minute; the angles of the arm when saluting; even the coordination and manoeuvres of pall bearers at funerals; they are all in that document which is often complemented by the many paged ‘dress regulations’ to deliver the impressive display of discipline and coordination by men and women committed to serve their country. So, what about the servicemen and servicewomen?

Well, you start with a very disparate group of young people with the clear intention of making them into the nation’s finest; quality-assured by a robust system and stamped as physically and mentally fit for purpose. They would have been taught values such courage, discipline, respect for others and systems, loyalty to country and compatriots, and selfless commitment. There toughness will be controlled by understanding of high standards in appropriateness, professionalism and lawfulness.

The principle guide and control of the service they have entered will be provided by and through the chain of command. Their training on the rank structure would have drilled into their minds who sits above them and who sits above that person and so on and so forth. They would have been told their service is to the country, and will be within the context of democratic accountability. They will go from the arms of their instructors into the leadership and guidance of the chain of command with a pledge to serve and obey THE Commander-in-Chief… NOT A Commander-in-Chief.

Those selected for and eventually trusted with a commission will take their places in the chain of command almost immediately after the dust settles on their passing out parade as newly confirmed commissioned officers with the rank of Second Lieutenant. These “one-pippers” will have command over up to thirty of their comrades-in-arms and, will among other things, give the leadership and guidance that strengthens the chain of command while contributing to sustaining the discipline and cohesiveness of the organisation. Periods of instruction on leadership would have told them of the importance of example. They will now learn through practice and from their superiors how the chain of command works and, probably more important for them, how they can and must contribute to sustaining it by exercising leadership.

At the parade square of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces’ Benguema Barracks a couple of weeks ago, after all the drill movements had been executed, the new intake of junior commanders stood waiting for that act of symbolism that confirms their status as holders of the Commander-in-Chief’s Commission. The white tapes that covered the “pips” that will show them as Second Lieutenants needed to be removed. At that moment, the non-commissioned officers who would have conducted much of their training will brace up and salute them. Even the RSM without whose permission they couldn’t and will never march on to the parade square will salute the new officers. They will transition from being soldiers to becoming officers and welcoming them to the chain of command as well as to the Officers’ Mess is all part of the symbolism.

So, how does one welcome someone to a club of which you are not a member? There are and always will be opportunities for spouses of Commanders-in-Chief to engage with the armed forces. However, as the chain of command is that difficult to strengthen but easy to undermine and weaken concept, best effort must always go into ensuring there are no mixed messages about its composition or the influences on it. The military have ceremonies that do not have chain of command implications and messages as significant as the one at passing out and commissioning parades. The bottom line is that there should never be doubt or confusion about who is in the chain of command and what their position in it is.

Spend time with the RSLAF, which I have done twice, and you will see examples of chain of command issues; and some of them rather scary. Recovery from damaging challenges to the chain of command in the late 1960s and 1990s (twice) is still “work in progress”. Knowing what to expect and look for will enable realisation of how fragile the system is. While the dust raised on the parade square is deliberate and part of the show, the dust raised by storms over protocol are unaffordable and carry real dangers.

The armed forces of all nations need all the support they can get. However, that support should always be designed to fit an institution that does a lot of attention to the detail of time, place, person(s) and symbolism.

©Othame Kabia