The school cadet program will be re-introduced at De La Salle Secondary School in Bomana outside Port Moresby, after half a century, Post Courier reports.
Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) Commander, Major General Mark Goina, made the announcement at the 50th anniversary commemoration ceremony of the crash that resulted in stop of the program.
Today, I want to announce as soon as the bill for the reserve force goes through parliament to later part of this year, it will include in there the reintroduction of the school cadet program .
Goina
The event, held at the school was attended by former students, the staff and students, members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), PNGDF personnel, Catholic congregation members and the two (2) remaining survivors.
On August 28th, 1972, an Australian Air Force Caribou DHC-4 transport plane carrying twenty-six (26) Papua New Guinean cadets and three (3) crew members crashed in the Kudjeru Gap in Morobe Province.
The crash claimed all the crew members and twenty-two (22) cadets. Five (5) cadets survived the crash but one died a day later due to internal injuries. The four that remained were cadets Anthony Kolou, Joseph Fragi, Patrick Gau and Chris Maraga.
A total of 25 people died as a result of crash making it the RAAF’s worst peacetime air disaster.
The cadet program ceased following the tragic crash but Major General Goina said re-introduction of the program was one of the three objectives of Reserve Force Bill which was going to parliament for approval.
Goina said the government made a decision to establish the reserve force a couple of years ago which included reviving the school cadet program. He said it is his intention to get the program starting in 2023 provided all the legal issues are sorted.