Defence Minister inaugurates accommodation for 6 Infantry Battalion
A 16-unit, one-bedroom accommodation facility for officers at the 6 Infantry Battalion in Tamale has been inaugurated.
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The facility also has washrooms, kitchens and store rooms.
It is part of facilities being funded with a GH¢100 million financial support from the Chinese government to improve infrastructure in military barracks in Ghana.
Inauguration
Inaugurating the building, the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, said the project formed part of the government's commitment to retool and improve on accommodation in military barracks across the country.
He said accommodation was one of the major challenges facing the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), adding that the situation had been compounded by the increasing enlistment of officers to boost the expansion strategy of the GAF.
"It is the vision of the government that all personnel of the GAF will be accommodated in the barracks, as required for unique institutions," he said.
Mr Nitiwul noted that the government initiated the housing project in 2017 with the aim of improving the accommodation deficit across all the garrisons, indicating that some of the projects had been completed, while others were at various stages of completion.
Maintenance
The Commanding Officer of the 6 Infantry Battalion, Lt Col Jerry Ankuyi, pledged the commitment to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities.
He said although the new accommodation would not completely solve the challenges confronting the unit, it would go a long way to reduce the accommodation deficit.
6 Infantry Battalion
The 6 Infantry Battalion was first raised in Accra on November 1, 1941, under Lt Col L.G. Dickson.
It was designated a training battalion till July 1941 when it was called 6 Gold Coast Regiment (GCR).
It was the duty of the battalion to train troops for World War II.
The unit was relocated many times during its formative years — from August 1941 to August 1944, it was stationed in Takoradi, and then it moved to Kintampo from August 1944 to August 1945 and later to Kumasi from August 1945 to July 1946.
In 1946, the battalion was disbanded as part of the post-World War II reforms programme.
As part of the reorganisation in the Army, the unit was designated 6 Training Battalion in 1984, and in 1986, it was reverted to 6 Infantry Battalion, with Lt Col Nick Sowatey as the CO.
In February 1964, the then President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as part of the post-Independence Expansion Programme, gave the assent to form an extra Infantry battalion to defend the country against internal and external aggression.
On May 15, 1964, the unit was re-formed at the Ranchi Barracks, Takoradi.
In January 1971, it moved from the Ranchi Barracks and took over the Kamina Barracks in Tamale.
At the moment, the unit consists of a headquarters, a special operations and three rifle units - A, B and C.
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