UPDF 15 Marines Brigade conducts 30km route march in Butiaba

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The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) 15 Marines Brigade has conducted a joint force 30-kilometre route march in Butiaba, Buliisa District.

The exercise on March 2 follows a directive from the Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to test troops’ physical fitness, discipline, teamwork, resilience, combat readiness and overall preparedness for future operations.

Officers from the Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons Service, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) joined the exercise in Butiaba sub-county on the eastern shores of Lake Albert.

The Commander of the 15 Marines Brigade, Brigadier General Michael Nyarwa, said the march was organised in response to the CDF’s guidance aimed at ensuring that security personnel remain ready and capable of executing their constitutional mandate.

Brig. Gen. Nyarwa observed that having the soldiers marching through the village paths area demonstrated the force’s preparedness to protect Ugandans, especially communities living close to the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We are here to assure Ugandans, to assure the people of Buliisa, that we are ready to protect them. Being near the borderline with the DRC, where the Allied Democratic Forces operate. This kind of movement sends a very serious signal that the UPDF remains alert and prepared,” Brig. Gen. Nyarwa said, according to a release from the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs.

He said the route march fulfilled one of its key objectives of testing and improving physical fitness, health and mental well-being at the individual level, while at the same time reinforcing one of the core values of the Marines, teamwork.

Brig. Gen. Nyarwa emphasised that while military skills and equipment are important, it is ultimately the ideologically sharpened human being who remains central to combat effectiveness.



The 30-kilometre route march is one of the activities on the UPDF calendar and is conducted across UPDF formations to maintain troop endurance, discipline and combat readiness.

The UPDF 15 Marines Brigade's major mandate is to manage and protect Uganda's water bodies.

The Brigade commands marine battalions to ensure security, enforcing regulations, and curbing illegal fishing on lakes in Uganda.