Installed as new Chief of Defense Staff: Mbaye Cissé, the General of the Army Corps, Mbaye Cissé, promised to work permanently to consolidate an Army ready to act. Given the volatile and changing security environment, it is essential to have well-trained human resources.
Appointed on April 6, Lieutenant General Mbaye Cissé was installed yesterday as Chief of Defence Staff. At the heart of Camp Dial Diop, which hosted the Minister of the Armed Forces, the High Commander of the National Gendarmerie, several general officers and several civilian personalities, General Mbaye Cissé was under the spotlight. After signing the Gold Book, he was elevated to the rank of Commander of the National Order of the Lion. In the process, he was presented with the command flag.
It’s a new life for the Cemga who has put on his new clothes and stars to replace General Cheikh Wade. « My ambition is to work permanently to consolidate an Army ready for use through its organization and its sense of anticipation, responsive through flexibility and its ability to circumscribe internal and external threats and above all resilient to all forms of adversity which tend to undermine its cohesion », explained General Mbaye Cissé.
For him, it is important to “realize the will of the highest authorities to print a qualitative transformation”. In his eyes, this goes “through research and the cult of performance, in the key areas covering operations, logistics, human resources, the military condition and above all the values on which our ethos as a soldier is based”. The context has changed. He himself is aware of this by arguing that “the Armed Forces must ensure operational preparation in accordance with our equipment, adapted to the exponential hardening of commitments and above all to the complexity of hybrid modes of action”.
He added: “To produce more effects, logistics needs a new culture based on rational technical management, underpinned by an approach combining expertise, pragmatism, anticipation and a spirit of innovation.” According to the Cemga, the modernization of the Armed Forces is a requirement. This happens through the strengthening of human resources. « I urge all levels of command to scrupulously watch over the requirements of our priesthood, while cultivating on a daily basis, the cult of a job well done, fairness, merit, mutual respect, enthusiasm and healthy camaraderie, values that underpin our identity as soldiers and as such, must remain points of vigilance for each and everyone”, explained the Cemga.
« It’s the crowning of a career »
The Minister of the Armed Forces, who installed him yesterday in his functions, is unequivocal: the appointment of Mbaye Cissé is the crowning of the career of an emeritus general officer. He said: « The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Mr. Macky Sall, by choosing you, has renewed his confidence in you because he has recognized in you the competence, the human and professional qualities required to continue to make the Armies a resilient and efficient tool. Having already worked with you, I remain driven by this same feeling… There is no doubt that you will be able to maintain the Armies on the trajectory of excellence traced by your predecessor, General of the Army Cheikh Wade, whom I salute… This is a crowning, but the task is also herculean. « I know that you seriously measure the magnitude of the task ahead of you. But, I remain convinced that in turn, you will bring your stone to the construction of this work which eminently human, is never completed.
Mbaye Cissé as chief of defence staff, its already accomplished. Aged 59, Mbaye Cissé, a former child of the troops, is a senior officer experienced in command tasks. The former Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic, until his appointment to the functions of Cemga, graduated from the National School of Active Officers (Enoa) in Thiès, certified in teaching senior military officers at the Inter-Army Defense College (formerly the Paris War School), former Commander of Military Zone No. 2 (Saint-Louis) and Chief of Staff to the Chief of Defence Staff and Director General of the Center for Advanced Defense and Security Studies (Cheds) from July 2020, also has a very respectable academic background. Holder of a master’s certificate in philosophy, a certificate of higher education in psychology and sociology, a Master 2 in international relations (option Public law-Security-Defence) obtained at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon Assas, in France, is now at the height of his military career.
By Ousmane SOW
- Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH
