Graduation Raises Troop Strength to 1,634 soldiers in the new AFL

{Elated new troops celebrate their graduation from basic training at the Barclay Training Center in Monrovia on April 25th, 2008}


Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, April 25th, 2008:

The size of the new Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) grew from 1,124 soldiers to 1,634 when 510 AFL recruits from Initial Entry Training Class 08-04 graduated from their basic training program at the Barclay Training Center in Monrovia. The new soldiers completed eight weeks of basic training at Camp Ware near Careysburg, which converted them from civilians into soldiers. This fourth class raised the total number of troops past the 82 percent completion point in the Security Sector Reform Program for National Defense. Just one final class of recruits remains. Perhaps the best part of any graduation ceremony is the participation of soldiers’ families. This ceremony was more heartwarming than the previous one, as hundreds of family members and friends remained on the parade field for nearly an hour after the ceremony --- taking in the historic event.