Leadership and the Challenges of Command: The Ghana Military Academy Experience

Brigadier General Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong was born on 2 February 1953 in Accra. He had his Secondary School Education at Mfantsipim School and the Ghana Secondary Technical School and had his first degree from the University of Ghana, Legon, where he also served as a Teaching Assistant for a year.

He also has an M.A. in Public Administration from Carleton University, Ottawa (Canada) and studied Strategic Planning and Management at GIMPA.

Brigadier General Frimpong had his basic Military Training at the Ghana Military Academy and the Cadets Training School in Canada and was commissioned on 21st July, 1973. He undertook a host of Professional Military Courses including the Senior Command and Staff Course in Jaji-Kaduna (in Nigeria). Brig. Gen. Daniel Frimpong has had varied experiences including service with the United Nations in peace-keeping operations in the Sinai, Lebanon and Cambodia. He was a member of the Consultative Assembly, which drew the constitution for the Fourth Republic.

He has been a Directing Staff in both Ghana and Nigeria at the Senior Command and Staff Colleges prior to being the Commanding Officer of the Ghana Military Academy, the singular experience out of which this book has emerged. He is currently the Military Attache at the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations in New York.

In this book Brigadier General Daniel Frimpong extensively discusses virtues, that is the excellences of character that is crucially important not only to military leadership and command but to all kinds of Leadership. Though his views and recommendations were derived from his experience as the Commanding Officer of the Ghana Military Academy, they apply to leadership outside the barracks.

Among the qualities emphasised are firmness, integrity and determination to adhere to principles and the ability for quick and correct assessment of unexpected situations. His analyses are incisive and convincing.

There is a lot to learn from this book on how to come to grips with quandaries of leadership.