Profile of Colonel Antwi Awuah Darkwa, Director of Training, KAIPTC

Colonel Antwi Awuah Darkwa is the Director of Training at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC). A Regular Airborne Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces commissioned in 1997, he brings nearly three decades of distinguished military service, with extensive experience in strategic leadership, operational command, peace support operations, and professional military education.

Throughout his career, Colonel Darkwa has held a broad range of command, staff, and instructional appointments at both national and multinational levels. His expertise spans special operations, counterterrorism, intelligence, peacekeeping, crisis response, and security sector training. He has commanded forces in complex operational environments and contributed significantly to national security policy and institutional capacity development.

Prior to his current appointment, he served as Deputy Commander of the Army Special Operations Brigade, Deputy Chief Coordinator of the National College of Defence Studies, Joint Task Force Commander for Operation MAIDA BUURI in Bawku, and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Commander for Exercise Flintlock Accra 2024. His previous appointments also include Chief Operations Officer and Chief Planning Officer of the Army Special Operations Brigade, Deputy Director of Army Operations at Army Headquarters, Commanding Officer of the 69 Airborne Force, Commanding Officer of the Ghana Battalion serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS GH7), Deputy Director of Intelligence Training at the Department of Defence Intelligence, and Port Security Manager at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority on secondment.

Colonel Darkwa also served for eight years as an Instructor and Course Commander at the Ghana Military Academy, where he played a key role in the training and professional development of officer cadets.

An accomplished peacekeeper, Colonel Darkwa has undertaken ten operational deployments under ECOMOG and United Nations mandates in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea-Ethiopia, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. He has also contributed to the planning and execution of major multinational military exercises, including Exercise Flintlock and Exercise African Lion.

His academic and professional qualifications include a Master of Science in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom; a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Ghana; a Postgraduate Diploma and Certificate in Public Administration from GIMPA; and professional certifications in Defence Management, Conflict and Crisis Management, and Port Facility Security. He has also completed numerous senior command, intelligence, leadership, counterterrorism, logistics, and United Nations professional courses in Ghana and abroad.

Beyond his operational and training roles, Colonel Darkwa has contributed to national security policy as a member of committees responsible for the redrafting of Ghana's National Counter Terrorism Response Plan and the development of a workstation programme for the National Crisis Response Centre. He has also represented Ghana at several international seminars on maritime security and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

Colonel Antwi Awuah Darkwa is married with three children. Outside his professional duties, he enjoys tennis, badminton, physical fitness, and mentoring young people.