General
Source: The Herald
FEMALE soldiers have been challenged to volunteer for the elite commando training as the army seeks to have equal career opportunities for all.
The commando section is male dominated.
In an interview after conferring coveted commando daggers and tartan green berets to 47 new commandos at Wafa Wafa training camp in Kariba recently, Colonel Steven Gwekwerere, who is Colonel General Staff at Army headquarters, said the Zimbabwe National Army did not discriminate against gender.
"Commando training by its nature is tough and those who join it do so voluntarily, many at times women are leaving this to males alone.
"The army wishes to see women also making it where their male counterparts are.
"This training is the toughest that a soldier can undergo because it is the ultimate test of physical and mental endurance designed to separate men from boys. The diversity of the curriculum seeks to create commandos who are not only able to keep abreast of complex military concepts and practices, but can easily adjust to the changing global environment," he said.
Col Gwekwerere also said the injection of new blood into the commando family will ensure that there was continuity in the defence of Zimbabwe, which was endowed with a lot of mineral resources.