The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) of Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), on Wednesday, 20th August, 2025, announced the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay as Commanding Officer of 14 Infantry Battalion, which Headquarters is deployed in Pujehun. The newly-appointed female Battalion Commander is a Kuranko. She hails from Kabala in Northern Sierra Leone.

Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay was commissioned as combatant officer in 2007 together with one other female and 21 men after successfully undergoing a rigorous military training at the Armed Forces Training Centre (AFTC) in Benguema, Western Rural District. She has attended the following career courses, all in Sierra Leone: Intermediate Staff Course (ISC), Junior Staff Course (JSC) and Platoon Commanders’ Battle Course (PCBC). She has also attended other professional courses such as Regimental Intelligence and Security Officers’ Course in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Military Intelligence Basic Officers’ Leadership Course in Ft Hauachuca, USA; Military Female Officers’ Course in Beijing, China; Program in Applied Security Studies in Garmish, Germany, and Comprehensive Security Cooperation Course in Honolulu, USA.

Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay has held the following appointments: Platoon Commander, Officer Commanding Human Intelligence, Training Officer, Operations Officer, Matron/Instructor and Gender and Equal Opportunities Officer. At the international scene, Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay has served in these capacities: Staff Officer in charge of Data Collection, United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in Sudan; and Intelligence Acquisition Officer, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO).

The newly-appointed female Battalion Commander holds the following academic credentials: Diploma in Public Administration, IPAM; and Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Business Administration, Milton Margai Technical University. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Diplomacy and International Relations at Fourah Bay College. By her appointment, Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay has made history as the first-ever female combatant officer to command a fighting unit of the Armed Forces.

The RSLAF journey towards gender parity kicked off in 1978 when the first-ever all-female recruitment was conducted. A total of 14 young Sierra Leonean women were trained and commissioned as combatant officers. They included: (1) Kestoria Kabia nee George, (2) Memuna Koroma nee Kanu, (3) Margaret Jah Tucker, (4) Christiana Jones nee Roberts, (5) Yvonne French, (6) Matilda Macauley nee Carew, (7) Anni Conteh nee Itam, (8) Yvonne Odigbo nee King, (9) Francess Sowa, (10) Lucy Kanu nee Ndawa, (11) Evelyn Williams, (12) Yvonne Wilson nee Campbell, (13) Ursula Hanciles nee Cole and (14) June Hotoba-During nee Adeola. Both Kestoria Kabia and Yvonne French were trained at the Women Royal Army Corps in the UK while the other 12 women were trained at the Ghana Military Academy in Tetshie, Ghana.

Both Kestoria Kabia and Memuna Koroma rose to the ranks of Brigadier-General and Colonel respectively. In 2010 Brigadier-General Kestoria Kabia became the first trained female officer to attain such rank not only in Sierra Leone but also in West Africa.

Additionally, in 1979 another all-female recruitment was conducted. A total of 64 women were enlisted. They all passed out as soldiers. They included 10 specialists and 54 combatants.

After the 1978 recruitment, no woman was ever trained and commissioned as combatant officer until 2005 when Cecilia Munu (now a Major) was trained and commissioned as such together with 58 men.

In 2022, Major Cecilia Munu was appointed as Second-in-Command of 11 Infantry Battalion, which Headquarters is deployed in Kambia. She became the litmus test for the future appointment of female combatant officers to command the fighting units of RSLAF.

However, between 1978 and 2005, women were only recruited as combatant soldiers. During Sierra Leone’s bloody Civil War, these female combatant soldiers fought alongside their menfolk against Corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh’s RUF rebels and their Charles Taylor’s NPFL allies. In all the recruitments conducted from 2005 to date, women have been enlisted as both combatant officers as well as combatant soldiers.

In 2019, there was a landmark all-female recruitment dubbed as “The Special Female” recruitment. It was launched by the First Lady, Dr Fatima Maada Bio.

In collaboration with the then International Security Advisory Team (ISAT), RSLAF enlisted a total of 327 young Sierra Leonean women. Out of the said number, 59 were commissioned as combatant and specialist officers while 268 passed out as soldiers.

Before the completion of “The Special Female” training, one of the female trainees, Antonnette Ajua Owusu (now a Lieutenant) was selected to continue with her military training at the Nigeria Defence Academy in Kaduna, Nigeria, where she was later commissioned as combatant officer.

Furthermore, in 2021, Luckey Morson (now a Lieutenant) became the first-ever female to be trained and commissioned as combatant officer at the UK’s most prestigious Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst. Earlier, Winifred Tumbay (now a Lieutenant) had also completed her military training at the said military academy.

Currently, a total of 1,022 Sierra Leoenean youths are undergoing military training at both the Peace Mission Training Centre (PMTC) at Hastings and the Armed Forces Training Centre (AFTC) at Benguema.

Out of the said number, 227 are women: 15 are being trained as combatant and specialist officers and 212 as soldiers.

In the RSLAF as in any other armed forces, there are two categories of appointments: command appointments and staff appointments.

In the context of command appointment, Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay has become the first-ever female combatant officer to command a fighting unit of RSLAF.

However, in 2000 Lieutenant Colonel Memuna Koroma became the first female officer to command a non-fighting unit – the then Armed Forces Personnel Centre (now Directorate of Pay and Records). Importantly, up to date Brigadier-General Kestoria Kabia has remained as the first-ever highest ranking female officer in RSLAF. During her military career, Brigadier-General Kestoria Kabia held several staff appointments. Until her retirement, she served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (ACDS) for Gender and Equal Opportunities.

The appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Alice Koria Sesay is part of the transformation process of the Armed Forces, which has been directed by the President and Commander-in-Chief, Brigadier-General Julius Maada Bio (Retired).

During the Commissioning and Passing-Out Parade Ceremony of “The Special Female” squad, held on 7th September, 2019, President Bio declared the day as “RSLAF Women’s Day”.

The President and Commander-in-Chief promised to promote gender parity in the Armed Forces. Since then, the First Lady, Dr Fatima Maada Bio has been very instrumental in promoting the cause of RSLAF female personnel.

Credit

Yayah Brima, Esq.,

Lieutenant Colonel,

Director,

Directorate of Defence Public Relations and Information

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 3rd September, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)