The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has begun a three-day joint tabletop exercise to strengthen preparedness, decision-making and coordination in responding to emerging security threats.
Dubbed “Exercise Resolute Synergy 2026,” the exercise, being held from August 25 to 27 under the theme, “Enhancing Preparedness Through Joint Training,” brings together participants and evaluators to test the Armed Forces’ readiness across land, maritime, air, cyber and information domains.
Brigadier General William Archibald Kwabiah, Director in charge of the exercise, said the contemporary security environment was increasingly complex, dynamic and unpredictable, with many threats falling beyond the responsibility of a single military service or institution.
He said addressing such challenges required coordinated action, sound judgement, timely decision-making and effective collaboration among the GAF and other national stakeholders.
Brig. Gen. Kwabiah said the tabletop format provided a controlled environment for participants to examine security scenarios, test assumptions, evaluate decision-making processes and strengthen coordination without the pressures associated with actual operations.
He said a major objective was to identify gaps in the Armed Forces’ preparedness before such deficiencies became costly in real-life situations.
“Jointness is not achieved merely by placing personnel from different places together. It is built through shared understanding of the issues, procedures, capabilities and limitations,” he said.
adding that effective joint operations also required trust, communication and a willingness to work towards a common objective.
Brig. Gen. Kwabiah said the exercise would improve participants’ understanding of the international security environment, strengthen coordination of responses and enhance timely and informed decision-making.
It would also examine the effectiveness of command and control arrangements, information-sharing mechanisms and inter-service coordination.
Brig. Gen. Kwabiah urged participants to approach the exercise with open minds and regard identified weaknesses not as failures but as opportunities to improve the Armed Forces’ preparedness.
“The real measure of success will not be how well we perform on the exercise floor, but the quality of the lessons we derive from it and, more importantly, how effectively the lessons after this exercise contribute meaningfully to the development of a professional, capable and operationally ready Armed Forces,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Kwabiah stressed the need for lessons identified during the exercise to be clearly documented and implemented, saying the ultimate value of training lay in what the GAF did with the lessons learnt.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Lt. Gen. William Agyapong, who declared the exercise open, described it as a deliberate and strategic effort to prepare the GAF for the increasingly complex demands of national defence and security.
He said the exercise was designed to strengthen operational preparedness, institutional cohesion and professional competence across the Armed Forces.
Lt. Gen. Agyapong said the exercise represented a practical expression of his strategic vision of maintaining a cohesive and professional force comprising skilled officers, dedicated soldiers and committed defence civilian staff, trained to the highest standards, equipped and motivated to safeguard Ghana’s sovereignty, drive national development and contribute to regional and global peace and security.
He said Exercise Resolute Synergy was also significant because it sought to integrate personnel, capabilities, services and ideas in a manner that reinforced the unity of the GAF while developing a force that was not only operationally effective but also “intellectually agile.”
The CDS noted that the exercise was the first of its kind in his 36 years of military service and came at a critical period in the history of Ghana and the West African sub-region, where the security environment had become increasingly volatile.
He cited the spread of violent extremist activities towards the southern parts of the sub-region as one of the developments requiring enhanced preparedness and coordinated responses.
Lt. Gen. Agyapong said the exercise would also provide an opportunity for the GAF to consolidate lessons accumulated through decades of internal security operations, peace support operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
He urged commanders and participants to exercise initiative, engage in critical thinking and maintain honest professional dialogue.
The CDS stressed that the objective was not simply to demonstrate the perfection of existing plans and strategies, rather, the exercise should identify weaknesses, expose capability gaps and generate practical solutions.
He also directed that lessons identified during the exercise be carefully documented and incorporated into future planning, operations and training.
Naval Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, Acting Director-General of the Department of Public Relations, GAF, said the simulation was based on a fictional national security crisis requiring a coordinated response involving the Armed Forces, other security services and relevant state institutions.
She said the simulated operation was designed around a range of challenges, including crime, violent extremism, fighting, agitation, hostage situations and cyber attacks, occurring alongside other national security pressures.
Naval Capt. Arhin said the complexity and range of the simulated challenges required the combined capabilities and expertise of the GAF and relevant state institutions.
She explained that the simulated operation was intended to strengthen inter-agency coordination, maintain public safety and support efforts to restore normalcy to affected areas.
Naval Capt. Arhin emphasised that all scenarios and operations presented during the exercise were simulations and urged the media to help provide accurate and credible information to the public.
Exercise Resolute Synergy 2026, sponsored by the General Headquarters of the GAF and conducted under the direction of the CDS, is expected to evaluate command and control structures, inter-agency coordination mechanisms, cyber-response capabilities, communication and the prioritisation of limited resources.
The exercise ends on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
GNA
