HIS EXCELLENCY RATU WILIAME MAIVALILI KATONIVERE’S SPEECH AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE RFMF MEMORIAL CHAPEL

The Commander, Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Major-General Jone Kalouniwai;

• The President of the Methodist Church, Reverend Ili Vunisuwai;
• Senior Officers of the RFMF;
• Distinguished guests;
• Ladies and gentlemen.
Miau sa bula re and good morning to you all! I am indeed honoured this morning to be present here with you all and I wish to express my deepest and sincerest appreciation for the invitation to be part of this auspicious event in the inauguration of the RFMF Memorial Chapel here at the RFMF Force Training Group.

As I stand here today, I notice that the former Chapel was constructed in the late 1980s when the RFMF took over the Juvenile institution. The foundation of the Old Chapel has become the platform on which this new chapel sits, representing a pivotal time for the RFMF as it goes through a transformational phase under its new leadership.

The new Chapel signifies essential areas of focus - which are Change, Newness and Elevation – these are a change in mindset, priorities, perspectives and importantly in spirituality. In newness, it allows for the introduction of new ideals and philosophies which can be challenging as it goes against the status quo. The RFMF’s 5 years Strategic Plan stresses the introduction of a new and reformed RFMF that charters a new direction and navigates the course of the organisation during these challenging times.

In terms of elevation, the RFMF represents Truth, Integrity and Uprightness. We have journeyed through some of Fiji’s toughest times and the RFMF has consistently stood by these institutional values. Our constitutional role is clear and for you to carry out your constitutional role you must position yourselves in an elevated position having a peripheral view of the situation at hand.

Having said that, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the provisions of pastoral care by the Methodist Church in Fiji to the RFMF ever since World War 1. The Methodist Church has been a consistent part of all of Fiji’s operational deployments locally and globally. The deployed chaplains that were within the ranks of the RFMF provided spiritual guidance for the men and women of the service during deployment, I, personally relied on this spiritual guidance during my deployments until today.

I pray and fervently believe that this new chapel will serve its purpose. Let it not be something for you to pride yourself in but let this chapel bring more humility. Let it be a place of convergence. Let it be a place of reverence and more so let it be a place of refuge where you can find your purpose in Christ our Lord.

In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge the officers, men and women, for their contributions towards the planning and execution of the construction of the chapel, which was built to honour the service of Padres who served in World War I, World War II, and other regional and Middle Eastern conflicts.

The chapel is also a memorial for members of the force who have passed on, their names and the memories we have of them will live on. With those few words, I would like to take this opportunity to declare the RFMF Memorial
Chapel as now OPEN.May the Almighty Bless us all. Vinaka Vakalevu.