Under the patronage of Bahrain’s National Security Advisor and Royal Guard Commander, Major General HH Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa (photo), and in the presence of the Royal Guard’s Special Force Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel HH Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the distribution ceremony of the first edition of the “Nasser bin Hamad Military Innovation Award” was held at the Crown Prince’s Centre for Medical Training and Research at the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF).

Deputy Royal Guard Commander and Chairman of the award’s organizing committee, Major General Hamad Khalifa Al-Nuaimi, delivered a statement in which he hailed HH Sheikh Nasser’s patronage of the first edition of the “Nasser bin Hamad Military Innovation Award”.

He asserted that HH Sheikh Nasser had launched the prestigious award to motivate all BDF affiliates, and promote the culture of innovation among them in the medical, technical and administrative fields in order to serve the military field in the operational and training aspects, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

He said that the high-profile jury of the award held periodic meetings over nearly a year to study and discuss all the participants’ projects thoroughly, and selected three winners among 102 contestants, in three categories, namely (a) scientific innovation, (b) military field innovation and (c) technical innovation.

After a short film on the innovations of the participants in the award, HH Sheikh Nasser honored the laureates of the “Nasser bin Hamad Military Innovation Award” 2019, as follows:

• Dr. Fatima Abdulrahim Fakhro won the Military Innovation Award in the scientific field on the treatment of multi-cavity encephalopathy, using Anti il-6 Receptor Antibody (Tocilizumab).
• The work team of the manufacturing of the armored vehicle (Faisal), led by First Sergeant Mohammed Abdulla Al-Dossari, won the Military Innovation Award in the military field category.
• First Sergeant Isa Abdulla Janahi won the Military Innovation Award in the technical military field on designing missile launch pads to pave the way for simulating their work and examination on the ground.

HH Sheikh Nasser also presented the winners with medallions of distinction.

On the occasion, HH Sheikh Nasser stressed the importance of stimulating intellectual creativity of the BDF’s affiliates, honing their skills and highlighting their talent in order to be able to better serve the BDF through research and projects, as well as enable them to compete at the international level.

Eligible participants, including BDF’s military and civil affiliates, in addition to retired servicemen, were required by the organizing committee to come up with innovative idea, in Arabic or English, that could be applied, turned into a product, or contribute to developing technical or scientific performance.

In another development, Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) held Wednesday a graduation ceremony for new recruits in a BDF unit. It was attended by Assistant Chief-of-Staff for Human Resources Major General Sheikh Ali bin Rashid Al Khalifa.

A briefing was given on the session. Then, the graduates presented an infantry field military show and practical applications. After that, they took the legal oath and were presented with certificates and prizes by the BDF Assistant Chief-of-Staff for Human Resources.

The ceremony was attended by senior BDF officers and the graduates’ families.

Lastly, Bahrain’s Defense Affairs Minister, Lieutenant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al-Nuaimi, received at the General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), the Japanese Ambassador to Bahrain, Hideki Ito.

The Minister discussed with the Ambassador ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two friendly countries.

Director of Military Cooperation, Rear Admiral Mohammed Hashim Al-Sada, and a number of senior BDF officers attended.