The Commander of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) 3 Infantry Division, Brig. Gen. Michael Walaka Hyeroba, has directed junior officers undergoing the Platoon Commanders Course Intake 18/26 to prioritize exemplary discipline, peak physical fitness, and frontline command.
Brig. Gen. Hyeroba issued the guidance while evaluating the officers during a high-tempo tactical field assessment code-named Exercise Storm Karamoja.
Addressing the trainees in the field, he noted that the platoon level is the decisive echelon where command resolve and leadership ethics are fundamentally tested.
“A platoon is where leadership is tested. Your men will look to you when they are tired, hungry and under fire,” Brig. Gen. Hyeroba said, urging the officers to always lead by example rather than commanding from the rear.
The Division Operations and Training Officer, who also served as Exercise Director, Col. Santurino Mashereka Tumuranzye, explained that the exercise simulated realistic battlefield conditions to evaluate combat readiness, tactical decision-making under stress, and unit coordination.
Representing the Joint Staff Training and Doctrine Command, Col. Mike Katongole Ssempija commended both the instructing staff and the trainees for demonstrating endurance, reminding them that career progression in the armed forces demands continuous professional learning.
The course is designed to equip junior officers with the tactical doctrine and operational leadership needed to lead small units in the ongoing pacification, counter-cattle rustling, and disarmament campaigns across the Karamoja sub-region and along the porous Uganda–Kenya international border.
