Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Edward Gabkwet (born 23 December 1971) is a Nigerian air force officer who is the 17th director of Public Relations and Information of the

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces, established four years after the nation became independent. As at 2021, the air force is one of the largest in A ...

Early life and education

Gabkwet had his early education at Baptist Primary School,

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

South from 1977 to 1983 and thereafter proceeded to the prestigious Saint Joseph’s College, Vom, near

Kuru Kuru may refer to: Anthropology and history * Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people * Kuru (mythology), part of Meitei mythology * Kuru Kingdom, ...

in Jos South where he obtained his General Certificate of Education. He then proceeded to study

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

at the

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

. He was commissioned as an officer cadets of 42nd Regular Combatant Course of the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration ...

in August 1990. Gabkwet later graduated on 16 August 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and was subsequently commissioned as a Pilot Officer of the

Military career

Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet has held several appointments in the course of his military career. In 1998, he was the Group Public Relations Officer (GPRO) at Air Weapon School (Now 407 Air Combat Training Group), Kainji. At various times, he served as the Command Public Relations Officer (CPRO) at Tactical Air Command Makurdi, Training Command, (Now Air Training Command), Kaduna as well as Logistics Command, Lagos. Air Commodore Gabkwet was also a United Nations Military observer at the

Democratic republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

between 2004 and 2005 where he also acted as the Assistant spokesman attached to the Office of the Force Commander. He also served as the first press officer to the Chief of the Air Staff between 2010 and 2012. As the Air Attaché, Edward was, for 2 years the secretary of the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Defence Attaches in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, a socio-cultural group catering to the military interest of Africa and Middle Eastern Nations in China. In 2018, he was appointed as the Command Training officer at the Ground Training Command

Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...

. Until his appointment as the 17th Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), he was a member of Directing Staff and Director Coordination at the Air Force War College,

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

. Gabkwet served as the DOPRI from 9 March 2021 to 6 January 2023. He was reappointed DOPRI on 3 July 2023 after serving as the Commander 551 NAF Station

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabkwet, Edward Living people People from Plateau State Nigerian Air Force air marshals Commercial aviators 1971 births