News

51 Engineer Regiment Begins Deployment in Tamale

• 07 Apr
• Admin

The 51 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army, one of the Regiments under the 14 Army Engineer Brigade has commenced preparations to deploy to Tamale. In August 2024, the Ghana Armed Forces promulgated and established the 14 Army Engineer Brigade to provide intimate combat engineer support to the 3 Army Commands (Southern, Central and Northern Commands).

The 51 Engineer Regiment was established and tasked with the provision of engineer support to the Northern Command of the Ghana Army. The Regiment, akin to its forebearer, the 48 Engineer Regiment, has the mission to provide a complete range of combat engineer support to the Ghana Army and other Services (Navy and Airforce), specifically supporting operations of the Northern Command of the Ghana Army, allowing the combat arms to live, move, survive, and fight while supporting Government Agencies, Civil and Local Authorities in order to safeguard national security and promote national development. The Regiment is responsible for the Northern, Savanah, North East, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

In line with military doctrine and practice, maneuver units deployed require close combat engineer support to enable them live, move and fight. The 51 Engineer Regiment is therefore dedicated to the provision of this intimate support to the units under Northern Command. The deployment of the unit to the North implies an enhancement of force protection for all troops deployed on the Northern frontier of the Country, providing mobility, counter mobility, survivability and general engineering support, these are the battle environment functions of the Engineer Regiment. In peace times, the Engineer Regiment is required to also provide support to civil and local authorities in support of all national development agenda.

The Commanding Officer of the 51 Engineer Regiment. Lt Col Kofi Poku, over the period paid working visits to the General Officer Commanding the Northern Command, the 6 Battalion of Infantry, 69 Airborne Force and the Airforce Base Tamale. The GOC Northern Command received the unit with high hopes, emphasizing the importance of an engineer unit in support of the Command. Similarly, the Commanding Officer called on the Chief of Savelugu, Yoo Naa Yakubu Andani.

In line with the establishment of the 51 Engineer Regiment in the Northern Region, suitable areas within the Savelugu-Pong Tamale enclave were reconnoitered for consideration by Higher Command as the home of the Regiment. The presence of the unit in Tamale is also geared at increasing disaster management response times as the 51 Engineer Regiment seeks to collaborate with NADMO and other local authorities in disaster preparedness and response.