The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) is expanding its domestic military training capability by establishing a Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
In December 2024, 40 students completed a nine-week pilot course at the AFL’s Armed Forces Training Center at Camp Ware. Each branch of the AFL was represented, and three female NCOs were among the graduates.
“I cannot overemphasize the importance of professional education in the military,” the AFL’s Command Sgt. Maj. Plazian B. Kuoh, senior enlisted advisor at the Armed Forces Training Center, told ADF. “It is the function and responsibility of every commander to lead, develop and achieve. To achieve such, you need institutions like the NCO Academy.”
AFL Command Sgt. Maj. William F. Tabolo, who participated in the inaugural course, said it is the first of many to come and credited Liberia’s partnership with the Michigan National Guard for helping launch the academy.
The national guard training team “supported us in the process [of establishing the academy], starting with validating instructors before the course, up to monitoring the course during its conduct and conducting an after action review with the students and instructors,” Tabolo said.
NCOs play a crucial role in the military. They hone the effectiveness and readiness of a unit by training and leading Soldiers and teams. They also enforce the military’s established policies and develop working relationships with commissioned officers.
“I believe NCOs can play an important role in offering Soldiers career training and improving professionalism, because they have the exact experience and understand the applicable teaching methodology,” Kuoh said.
The pilot course focused on readiness, training and program management, communications, and operations.