AFM junior officers claim top spots

Second Lieutenants Benjamin Vassallo and Simon Attard both placed first amongst the international students at the Brittania Royal Naval College and at the Royal Air Force College respectively.  A third AFM Second Lieutenant also did exceptionally well at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.  All three AFM Officers were in the United Kingdom to attend Initial Officer Training (IOT).

Enlisted in the AFM also on the basis of his MCAST qualification as Officer in Charge (OIC) of Navigational Watch, Second Lieutenant Vassallo attended the intensive 30 week course in the UK intended to mould promising naval sub-lieutenants and midshipmen into Naval Officers.

Second Lieutenant Vassallo will be awarded the Admiralty Prize for Best International Cadet. During the year under review around 120 cadets from 20 different nations attended the Naval College alongside British cadets.

Second Lieutenant Simon Attard was equally successful at the Royal Air Force College. Attard's course, which lasted 36 weeks included both theory and practise modules concentrating on leadership.

Second Lieutenant Simon Attard, who was already a qualified pilot with 500 hours of flying under his wings before enlisting as an AFM Officer Cadet, was awarded the Best International cadet during a ceremony held at the College on the 21^st of March 2013

Across the Atlantic, Lieutenant Matthew Portelli was flying the AFM flag at the Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course (IBOLC) held at Fort Benning in Georgia USA.  Extended over 18 weeks, the course, which focuses on Infantry Tactics and Leadership, was also attended by West Point Graduates.

Lieutenant Matthew Portelli who joined the AFM in 2007 and who has since qualified as a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer at MCAST thanks to an AFM sponsorship earned himself the International Student Distinguished Honour Graduate Award with what his instructors termed as an outstanding performance.

Most of the overseas training courses for members of the AFM, including the three mentioned above are opportunities made possible by those that continue to assist the AFM in its ongoing development.  Over the years the AFM has fostered military to military relations that supported by Government have led to a special bond with numerous States.  In the field of training this relationship is particularly strong with Ireland, Italy the Netherlands, the UK and the US.