Editor,

Refer tothe article, "A year later, RDF has stamped a legacy of reliable service in CAR” (The New Times, January 28).

Our Central African sisters have grasped what we did long ago: we sleep soundly in our beds, go to work or go about our daily activities, criss-cross our country from north to south, east to west, wake up and jog at 5.30 in the morning, all without once giving the slight thought about our personal security because we long ago internalised the fact that our women and men in uniform provide an unobtrusive yet virtually impenetrable shield for us.

I am extremely proud that our women and men behave exactly the same wherever they serve as they do at home. And I am fully aware how hard this can be in a foreign, high-risk environment far from home where the temptations thrown at young men and young women who do not have to fear the opprobrium of their family and friends can be irresistible.

The professional and ordinary human behaviour of our women and men in uniform speaks very eloquently to their doctrine, discipline, training, leadership and the national ethos of service of New Rwanda’s young people in uniform. They are worthy ambassadors.

Mwene Kalinda