Editorial

The recently appointed commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, joined the Pioneer Corps in 1973, an auxiliary body created by Dom Mintoff as a response to rising unemployment. Prior to this he had turned down an opportunity to work at the Bank of Valletta.

Within three years he received the commission of a lieutenant in the AFM. It is to his considerable credit that in the late 1990s he was selected to attend a highly prestigious course at the Royal Defence Staff College. It was even more creditable that he graduated from the RDSC with what in university terms would be described as honours.

In an interview carried in this newspaper, last Wednesday, three points emerged that will have come as a surprise to readers: the size of the search and rescue region (SAR) for which Malta is responsible; the weaponry used by the AFM and the overseas training courses attended by soldiers and officers. The first is vast, the second sounds like a hotch-potch and the third are interestingly various.

Malta's SAR extends all the way to the south coast of Crete. That sounds like an excessively tall order, not least because we do not have the vessels to conduct a rescue in an area as far as away as that. What the AFM does have, however, is the capacity and capability to coordinate operations that will result in the rescue of other ships in distress. The AFM is currently preparing to set up a training centre with the help of the United States at Safi for Maltese and foreign military personnel and civilians specialising in the coordination of search and rescue missions.

Our excellent relations with Italy have led to excellent response reflexes to each other's calls when it comes to coordinating SAR operations. A draft agreement with Greece waits to be structured further and contacts have been established with Libya and Tunisia to create means and methods of exchanging information and promoting search and rescue operations. This is all to the good and the AFM is to be congratulated for the initiatives being taken.

When it comes to weaponry, we appear to have bits and pieces that date back to World War II and should have been consigned to the scrap-heap long ago - the Bofors light anti-aircraft gun, for example. The AFM's firearms seem to come from every continent. This makes for a logistical nightmare and is clearly a nonsensical situation that has to be remedied as swiftly as possible. Standardisation is vital and, once we have joined the EU, it makes eminent sense, as Brigadier Vassallo pointed out, to equip ourselves with the Italian rifle.

For some time now the AFM has taken advantage of sending soldiers abroad for advanced military training. One cadet a year receives his/her education at the Royal Military Academy in England. Others are trained in Italy, Germany and even as far away as the United States. Then there is specialist training for which soldiers have been sent to Sweden, Austria and Ireland. Here, one may beg to differ with the commander who seems to think that this should pose any problem. It would surely add to the professionalism of the force.

Like all good commanders Brigadier Vassallo would like to see the budget for his the AFM increased. All would agree. If we are to have an armed force it should measure up to its name and be an efficient one, well trained, well equipped and well-led.