PRESENTATION ON CORE COMPETENCIES OF MILITARY TALENT

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Respected delegates of the participating countries and

august gathering, a very good day to all of you. At the very outset, I would like to
express my heartfelt gratitude to the organizing authority for arranging such a grand
event and precisely, for honoring us with the opportunity to be a part of it. I, Sergeant
Abtahi Tanjil Sifat, currently training as an Officer Cadet in Bangladesh Military
Academy, am highly delighted and honored to present before you the core
competencies of military talent in the light of Bangladesh Army. My beloved motherland
Bangladesh marked her gracious presence in the world map in the year of 1971 through
a historic and revolutionary war of liberation. The land of 57,320 square miles enriched
with the dreams of 164 million souls is well known throughout the globe for her
ambient virtue of friendship towards all. Bangladesh army, contemporary to the country
herself, is also quite prominent in the world for their professionalism and outstanding
contribution to the UN peace keeping missions. Bangladesh Military Academy being the
cherished Alma Mater of all the officers in our army is entrusted with the responsibility
of preparing the cadets for becoming officers by instilling the core competency values
since 1974.

The sequence I will be following through my todays presentation is flashed on the

screen.

For any organization, its core competency refers to the capabilities, knowledge, skills
and resources that constitute its "defining strength." In other words, these are the most
important functions or group of functions that define the basic purpose of the Army of
Tomorrow. The primary purpose of any army, first and foremost, is to keep the nation
and sovereignty safe and secure. Generally it does this by having the capabilities
necessary for fighting and winning a nation’s wars.

On the other hand, the military talents can be segregated into two prime groups- hard
and soft skills. While the hard skills are technical in nature, the soft ones are mostly
interpersonal. The combination of these two enables a soldier to perform his duties and
to achieve qualification for his subsequent personal and professional life.

The core competencies and talents in different militaries are more or less similar in
nature. These include leadership, integrity, teamwork, ability to discharge
responsibilities under pressure, physical fitness, discipline and so on.
The core competencies of Bangladesh army talents are divided into two- the values and
ethos. Values are the principles or standards of behavior whereas ethos is the
characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its attitudes and
aspirations.

The honor and pride of our soldiers are manifested through the selfless discharge of their
duties, which often turns them into the source of hope in any national crisis. Honesty and
integrity are integral part of our soldiers’ upbringing which keeps them on track throughout
their service. Unquestionable loyalty is the essence of their professionalism which enables
them to be an army of enormous capabilities. Patriotism is borne in the hearts of our
soldiers and does not let them retire even under threats of making supreme sacrifice. The
reciprocal trust and faith amongst the soldiers is the key to make our army an efficient and
capable one. Mutual respect ensures that everyone is being valued for who they are and
what they bring to the organization. The sense of justness is instilled in the minds of our
soldiers so that nothing can allure them off from the proper and professional discharge
of their commitments. They always put service before self, being oath-bound to carry
out any given assignment, even at the cost of the supreme sacrifice if the situation
dictates so. The soldiers are courageous and they never back off from responsibilities,
no matter how difficult they might seem or whatever threats they impose. Comradeship
is the sacred and solemn virtue nurtured by every trained personnel which brings their
hearts close together in every situation, be it merriment or hardship.

The ethos of Bangladesh army are flashed on the screen

1. I am a proud soldier of Bangladesh army.

2. I shall uphold the spirit of our liberation war and the values of the constitution at
all time.
3. I love my country and am ready to make supreme sacrifices to defend her and
the constitution.
4. I have firm faith on the creator and shall lead a life of honesty and integrity.
5. I shall preserve the culture, heritage and traditions of my country and live in
accordance with the army values.
6. I am a disciplined and a trained professional and know my job well to defeat the
enemy of my country.
7. I shall uphold the honor of my army and nation at all cost.
These ethos aspire our soldiers to be dedicated and conscientious members of the
army, ready to discharge assignments always and every time.

Bangladesh military academy is playing the most pivotal role in shaping our army up, as
it is training all the officers of the organization. It not only concentrates into general
grooming up, but also takes keen interest in instilling the core competencies into the
future leaders. I will be discussing few of the emphasized arenas in this regard.

Honesty and integrity is always given with the utmost priority and is never compromised
with. At the very outset of the preliminary training of an officer cadet, the honor code
ceremony is arranged with a view to engraving it into the hearts of future leaders that
“An officer cadet shall lead a life of honor and integrity. He/she shall not lie, cheat or
steal.”

A delicate chain of command is maintained with personnel of all ranks including the
officers, JCOs, NCOs and the cadets so that unquestionable loyalty becomes a muscle
memory for the future officers. Indeed this is a foremost prerequisite of a disciplined
army.

The cadets cherish a well-built brotherhood within themselves which in turn develops a
sacrificing attitude in them for their comrades. It is often seen in assault course
competition that cadets are lifting their mates first and then crossing the 9 feet wall
themselves.

Discipline must be at the helm for any professional and capable army. The cadets in the
academy maintain a very high standard of discipline in all spheres of day to day life. As
practice makes a man perfect, the same way discipline gets instilled into them for the
rest of their lives.

Sincerity is the trinket of a gentleman and the officers of our army are no exception. The
cadets in the academy are trained to be sincere through strict adherence to instructions,
following certain prescribed drills and so on. This helps them a great deal to pave the
way of their careers in the future.

A leader of the men must be confident in his actions and decisions. The academy
inculcates this great virtue through a lot of events, of which rappelling and confidence
building exercise can be cited as examples. This enables the future officers to be self-
confident and decisive in nature.
Courage is a must for all the military personnel as cowards die many times before their
death. The academy implants this standard into the cadets through a number of
challenging events, namely boxing, battle inoculation etc.

An officer is successful only if he has sound command and control over his men. The
academy provides the cadets with the rare opportunity of exercising command and
control by adorning them with different layers of appointments. Duly discharging these
responsibilities helps a cadet to grow the essence of command in him.

The theoretical knowledge will be of no profound use if these cannot be applied on

ground. The academy arranges a lot of tactical and practical exercises which allow the
cadets to implement what they have learnt in the classrooms. Thus they not only remain
knowledgeable, but also become equally efficient.

In the world of globalization, power of expression is one of the most required weapons
in the arsenal of a military officer. The academy offers the chance of developing oratory
skills of the cadets by arranging exercise on operational orders, communication skill
classes, debate competitions and so on. These help the future officers to be confident
and precise in their expressions.

There is no shortcut to physical efficiency for a soldier. The cadets in the academy are
duly groomed up to be strong and stout through daily PT and games periods. They are
also tested 4 times in each six months, of which two tests commence on the spot
without prior notification.

Cooperation is the key to success for any group, be it civil or military. The academy
implants cooperation amongst the cadets by putting them through calculated acid tests.
Three years of contemporary stay in the academy naturally plays a pioneer role in
developing a strong bonding amongst the cadets as well.

These are all the emphasized sectors through which Bangladesh Military Academy is
immensely contributing in instilling the core competencies into the future leaders.

I am almost at the verge of my presentation. At this part, I would be glad to clarify any
of the questions that come across your mind.

Ladies and gentlemen, soldering is the third oldest profession in the world. Being a part
of this family automatically brings us together. It is the solemn responsibility of any
army to protect the sovereignty of its own nation and Bangladesh is no exception. In
doing so, the core competencies are must to achieve because these are the proficiencies
that make the army capable, skillful and coherent.

At last, I would like to thank the host authorities once again for honoring me with the
unique opportunity of articulating my mind in front of this auspicious gathering. Thank
you, gracious presence, for your patient hearing.