FBR Celebrates the Graduation of 165 New Rangers
12 January 2024
Karen State, Burma
On 1 January 2024, 165 Rangers from seven ethnic groups, including 50 advanced students, graduated from the Free Burma Ranger Servant Leadership and Relief Team Training. Again this year, teams of Burman ethnicity from the major cities of Burma were among the graduates, another sign of how the Burman people have been standing together with the other ethnic groups and against the Burma dictatorship and army since the coup of 1 February 2021.
The men and women Rangers were from the Karen, Karenni, Pa-Oh, Tavoy, Shan, Arakan, and Burman ethnic groups. People of different faiths joined the training and all are welcome. Seven of the Rangers became new followers of Jesus and were baptized at the end of the training, including one of our founding Ranger’s sons. Included in our graduation celebration was the wedding of two of our Karenni FBR leaders.
The training lasted three months and the first and last lessons are: love God, love and forgive each other, pray and don’t give up. These new Ranger teams will now go to help people displaced by new Burma Army attacks in three different areas.
Courses taught:
• Ethnic Unity
• Leadership Principles
• Mule and Horse Packing
• Map Reading and Drawing
• Compass Reading
• Land Navigation
• GPS (Global Positioning System)
• Landmine Removal
• Swimming and Lifesaving
• Solar Power and Battery Management
• Human Rights Violations Recording and Reporting
• SALUTE Reporting
• General Reporting
• Video and Photography
• Medical Training
• Five Field Training Exercises
• Physical Training
• Rope Bridge Building
• Poncho Raft Use
• Rappelling
• Good Life Club Training
There are three requirements for FBR team members: 1) They must be literate in at least one language for reporting and medical work. 2) They must have the physical and moral courage to be able to do physically hard and dangerous missions, and cannot run away from the enemy if the villagers they are helping cannot run. 3) They must do this work for love; they are not paid by FBR.
The teams will now go on a joint mission to give help, hope, and love to people under attack. Once finished with the mission, they will return to their home areas, ready to conduct missions there. They will have learned and practiced many new skills to be able to help their people in any kind of crisis, as well as having gained new relationships of love across ethnic lines. Both these skills and relationships will be of vital importance as the Rangers serve those in need.
Thanks and God bless you,
Dave, family and FBR
