UPDF Training |Uganda Peoples Defense Force

A typical day of a trainee 
By 4am, they are all out of their beds. They start with running 12km minimum, go for parade and they are counted. Platoon sergeants, who are chosen among the recruits to command platoons of 40 men, make sure that all personnel under their command are on parade. After that they go for class to study military academics.

Lunch is prepared. They also train at night. They are trained on how to move in the dark without being noticed by the enemy. They do map reading both during the day and at night. They do utema duni (singing and telling stories) up to around midnight after which they go and sleep.

The training starts with theory and then practical lessons that include obstacle crossing, target shooting, and digging protection trenches. The trenches act as a shield during crossfire.
The first three months are for orientation. They learn the basics including military writing. “Our writing style is different from yours (civilian). The way we paragraph, position the dates, arrange the text, are all unique, says Lt Col Ankunda.