Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sinsy Ndeshi Bamba Nghipandua is a retired Namibian military officer whose last appointment served was as the Commander of the

Namibian Navy The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's Navy has been slowest of the three Arms of Service. The force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime ...

. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Navy in 2017. Prior to that he served as Commander of Naval Operations with the rank of Rear Admiral.

Career

Exile

Admiral Ngipandua joined

People's Liberation Army of Namibia The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the S ...

under

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

in exile in 1978 as a 17-year-old and received military training in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

NDF career

Rear Admiral Nghipandua's career in the Namibian Defence Force started in 1990 as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

after Namibia's independence when he was appointed as a Staff Officer 3 Military Intelligence Branch DHQ in the

Namibian Army The Namibian Army is the ground warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's army was the fastest of the three arms of service. The first units of the Army were deployed as early as 1990. The Army was formed ...

. In 1995 he attended the Naval Surface Warfare Course Brazil. In 2000 he was attached to the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

as a ship captain under instruction as an

Executive Officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

. Nghipandua became the first Namibian Ship Commanding Officer as he was appointed as captain of the Patrol Vessel NPV Oryx in 2002 with the rank of Commander. In 2005 he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Base Capt (N) P.N. Sacharia with the rank of Navy Captain. In 2009 he was appointed as the Commander Naval Operations with the rank of Rear Admiral (JG).In 2017 he rose to the rank of Rear Admiral and appointed as Navy Commander he served in that position until his retirement in August 2020.

Qualifications

*Command and Staff Course and NDC programme in Kenya in 2008 * Naval Senior Staff Course in USA * Naval Officers Formative Course in Brazil * Junior Staff Course (BMATT) * Recce Training in Lubango, Angola * Intelligence and Special Operations in Cuba * Counter Intelligence * Advance military Law He also holds a: *Bachelor of Technology in Business Administration from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

*National Diploma in public administration from the then

Polytechnic of Namibia A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

. *Postgraduate Diploma in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval Staff College
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Military Decorations

Namibian Army Pioneer Medal * Namibia Independence medal

Independence Medal * Meritorious Services (10) years’ services medal * NDF commendation ribbon

NDF Commendation Medal * Naval Merit Order Medal(Brazilian Navy) * Namibian Navy Achievement Medal *The Sea Services 250 days Medal *The ten (10) years (Navy) Meritorious Services Medal *The Namibian Navy Pioneer Medal *The Silver Star Medal *The Southern Cross Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nghipandua, Sinsy Living people Namibian military personnel 1960 births