It has been 66 long years since this day was set aside to honor the gallant men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation and its Peoples.
Let me reverence those who have served and are still serving in the Armed Forces of Liberia. The Men and Women in uniform who have labored to provide human security for the people of Liberia.
We are glad that we have an Army that we are so proud of today. Not to overly say this but it is an open secret that almost every Liberian is proud of the Army we have today. We all know how the Army was reduced to nothing during the civil crisis yet the Arm Force of Liberia is our pride and we are glad to have you gallant men and women in the Army.
We are thanking God Almighty for giving us the grace to celebrate this 66th Armed Forces Day with you, a day on which we recognize your unflinching dedication to this Land of Liberty.
As we acknowledged the works that you have done over the years, we also want to remind you that our dear nation has been through a lot of struggles, though we have come out stronger, and better.
We cannot overly emphasize your unique capacities that you bring in supporting civil authority, particularly in keeping the peace that we have fought so hard to maintain.
We want to urge you, the Armed Forces of Liberia to not allow yourselves be used again as a weapon against your own people. Like the President said “there cannot be a strong democracy without a professional military”.
We have come to urged you to remain a “Force for Good”- keep the touch burning, keep up your professionalism and keep protecting us against extremism and the consequences of terrorism.
Our dear soldiers we crying that you remain the “People’s Soldiers” as you perform their duties in like manner.
Some of us just learned the historicity behind the celebration of Armed Forces Day. We also learned that day was borrowed from the United States of America in 1954, an American Colonel Francis M. Dean, the then Assistant Chief of Staff and Intelligence Officer of the Armed Forces of Liberia, recommended that a day be set aside yearly as “Armed Forces Day” to honor the members of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Finally let me thank you for your support to the people of Liberia in many forms in which you serve us. Either as engineer, doctors, soldiers etc. As a people we will continue to do our best support your works.
Bravo Our Gallant Men and Women
