Constant production of female officers in progress to ensure servicewomen’s participation in national defence of Republic of Union of Myanmar
Nay Pyi Taw December 22
The Passing-out Parade of the 8th Intake of Graduate Female Cadet Course that will strengthen the role of women soldiers of the Tatmadaw was held at the parade ground of Myanmar Army Officer Training School-OTS (Hmawbi) in Yangon this morning with an address by Chairman of State Administration Council Com-mander-in-Chief of Defence Services Maha Thray Sithu Se-nior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Also present were Comman-der-in-Chief (Navy) Admiral Zeya Kyawhtin Moe Aung, Commander-in-Chief (Air) General Sithu Maung Maung Kyaw, senior military officers from the Office of the Comman-der-in-Chief, Union ministers, the chief minister of Yangon Region, the commander of Yangon Command, the Yangon mayor, the commandant of the school, and officials.
First, the Senior General took the salute of the cadet companies and inspected the company of graduate cadets. Then, the cadet companies saluted the Senior General through slow-march past and quick-march past.
The Senior General presented the Best Cadet Award to Cadet May Thet Nwe.
In his address, the Senior General said soldiers always have to safeguard Our Three Main National Causes: Non-disintegration of the Union, Non-disintegration of the National Solidarity, Perpetuation of Na-tional Sovereignty as a national duty for the Union in which lives over 100 ethnic people. National Affairs means safeguarding the national interests, and religion, Sasana, traditional culture and customs. Let the nation be led by any political system or any government, as its Nation Policy, Tatmadaw has to maintain the Three Main National Causes concerning with all nationalities. I would like to urge that Tatmadaw will implement harmoniously with the people for national politics.
It is crystal clear that Tatma-daw acted as a sense of one-ness with the people to achieve tranquil and developed country, and carried out the necessities of people and the needs of the country throughout the history directly or indirectly. I would like you all to keep up the good historical traditions at all times.
Viewing some of the capa-bilities of servicewomen in the history of Myanmar Tatmadaw, we will notice some aspects of Myanmar women’s efforts in the period of independence struggle. After independence in 1948, female officers and female other ranks were assigned to respective corps and medical corps. Good traditions which fulfilled assigned duties of female officers from Myan-mar Female Military Services organized in 1954 can be seen as an honour and then it can be witnessed that over 3,000 servicewomen such as female nursing officers, graduate female officers, female medical officers, female nursing and paramedical personnel, female sergeant clerks and female soldiers are being appointed.
In building defensive power, Tatmadaw has been training and producing servicewomen by opening training schools to participate a mass of Myanmar Women for promoting the role of women and serving service women in Tatmadaw. Additionally, the Passing-out Gradu-ate Female Officers are being given the opportunity to do further study in their respective subjects in order to get Master degrees and PhD degrees. The Passing-out Graduate Female Officers have been fulfilling in their respective corps, including the offices and the departments of Tatmadaw (Army, Navy and Air).
In the study of developed countries, it is found that human resources are fully applied. In utilizing human resources to develop the country, there is no gender discrimination. Every country tends to carry the National Interest in performing the development of human resour-ces. As women make up of over 52 percent of the total population in the country, we have been promoting the role of women.
As the strength of nation lies only in the nation, Tatmadaw women constantly need to be physically fit and mentally pertain the invincible will power to protect the mother land.As you all are youth, develop your leadership as well as your organization. To become a successful leader, you have to lead your subordinates. Only if you are eager to learn the skills or knowledge that a leader should know, you would be able to make right decision, thus, you are urged to learn individually. In doing so, you need to be honest and not to hurt others. You need to be proud of your professional work only by striving to complete your mission and to achieve your goals in your work.
Now, you will be the witness to the striving for State Peace and Development of the country. Each and every single unit of our Tatmadaw are also striving for the development of the organization. Unity is indispensa-ble for the development of an organization. Our Tatmadaw’s families have to bring about the strong unity within organization based on the nationalistic and patriotic fervour. In bringing about the unity within organi-zation, it needs to rely on the Four Major Tasks of Tatmadaw-Building; Training, Admi-nistration, Welfare and Morale. And also, every Tatmadaw per-sonnel always needs to raise the comradeship referred as the compassion, attachment and loyalty on each other. Thus, the strong unity within organization can be build.
To be a good soldier, you need to steadfastly uphold the virtuous Sixty Codes of Conduct which are meant for soldiery. Thus, you will become disciplined and entrusted soldiery for the country and the people. Since the well-disciplined soldiery are willing to do their assigned duties to be accom-plished, I would like to impart you who are to serve as junior officers to be the quintessence of discipline, and to conduct close supervision on your subordinates to do so even though it is a mere trifle.
Our Tatmadaw has laid down The Three Principal Duties; “Duty to defend the Nation, Duty to undergo training and Duty to serve the interests of the people”. Duty to defend the Nation is the primary concern amongst those duties. In National Defence, although it is typically meant to repel the threats of internal and external destructive elements, it is need-ed to prevent not only military approach but also all acts of detrimental to the country such as political intervention, economic sanction, fake news propa-gation and cultural interference at present.
To be dutiful individually, military subjects enlightened by Military Training Schools or Academies need to apply, along with the motto “Study, Practice, Comply”, in a practical field precisely and effectively while serving national defence duty. Comrades were encouraged to study the most up-to-date military equipment and tactics juxtaposed with the modern world to enable them to use, to practice physical training to be much healthier and to comply the fundamental procedures of military and front-line disciplines in the practical field.
A task that directly contributed to the good of civil society is another major task of our Tatmadaw. If an emergency case occurs in the country, Tatmadaw stands with immense strength rigidly in a front row. When faced by natural disaster in the regions, adhering the restricted orders, Tat-madaw personnel has early by far arrived and helped the people who lived in those areas. That kind of action taken by Tatmadaw is the most vener-able task which contributed to the good of the civil society. At present, you were vividly witnessing that Tatmadaw, as much as it can, assisted and protected the people from all sectors since outbreaking the COVID-19 pandemic. As regards the infection of COVID-19 across the country, on one hand, the COVID-19 preventive measures are being imposed. For the vaccination processes across the country in a timely manner, any possible ways, on the other hand, to gain vaccines are discovering and the arrived vaccines are being transported to respective regions and states by its priority.
Tatmadaw is the strength of the country and people and also the strongest institution demonstrating greater read-iness when coping with an emergency in the country. So, you being good fellow citizens, I firmly urged you all to assume responsibility for the national defence duty in a dutiful manner.
Having duty consciousness among the country and people, loyalty and a variety of selfless performances with a spirit of goodwill by Tatmadaw have been witnessed in the past. Currently, Tatmadaw is also steering and monitoring to be straightforward on building the Union Republic rooted in demo-cracy and the federal system having peace and tranquillity, and community development.
I would like to highlight that every effort partaken by Tat-madaw tend to be beneficial for our motherland and ethnic people, and Tatmadaw also performs the tasks with a spirit of goodwill to be able to stand rigidly as a country among the world. You all must try to become good female officers reliable for nation and Tatmadaw.
After taking salute from the cadet companies, the Senior Ge-neral left the parade ceremony.
After the parade ceremony, the Senior General met with Best Cadet May Thet Nwe, Cadet Eint Hmu Thet Chal, winner of excellent award in shooting, Cadet Poe Akari Swe, winner of excellent award in parade, and Cadet Hsu Pyae Sone Lin, winner of excellent award in physical strength, at the parlour of the headquarters of OTS and spoke words of honour.
In his praise of the outstand-ing cadets, the Senior General recognized their efforts with pleasure and urged them to maintain their strength, zeal, perseverance, hard work and resolution they exercised throughout the course in their whole life. As they are alumni of universities or postgraduate courses, cadets already have the thinking power and know-ledge of social lifestyles. They had already tried hard to pass the graduate courses and postgraduate courses and because of their efforts they have become lady officers. They must en-courage their basic practice of working hard throughout their lives as hard work ensures success. Female soldiers are being produced as they are re-quired both for the country and the Tatmadaw. So, they must try to become valuable and reliable leaders. They must have self-discipline and wisdom. Lack of self-discipline may lead to the wrong road and self-indulgence may ruin life. So, they must build their successful future through straightforwardness, hard work and self-discipline. They must stay away from behaviors, per-sonal style that are unfit for their status and must enhance the image of Tatmadaw through dutifulness, discipline in accord with the characteristics of a perfect soldier. They are indeed honourable as they are the persons who join the Tatmadaw out of their own volition from among the womenfolk that represents 52 percent of the nation’s population.
They must never forget the debt of gratitude they owe to their parents who have nurtur-ed them from their childhood years till now and being an obedient child is the best way to pay back the debt of gratitude they owe to their parents. They must steer their life with the ability to think and act wisely. They must turn themselves into good and outstanding persons while providing parents with the entire requisites for their physical and mental wellbeing. They must try hard to improve themselves and keep their goals alive while applying the social experiences they learned at the university and maintaining good foundations paved by the OTS.