NAVTRAC

Commodore Godwin Livinus BESSING was commissioned into the Ghana Navy Executive Branch as a Sub-Lieutenant on 14 August 1992 as a member of Regular Career Course 32. He proceeded to India for the Basic Sub-Lieutenant Technical Course from September 1993 to March 1995. On return home, he was posted to the fleet as a Watching Keeping Officer until 1999 when he was appointed Executive Officer (2I/C) of GNS SEBO. He later captained the same ship from 2004 to 2006.

In the course of his career, Cdre Blessing held a number of staff and command appointments in both national and international settings. Between 1992-1993 and 1995-1998 he served intermittently onboard various Ghana Navy ships as part of the Maritime Task Force of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia and Sierra Leone. . His staff and command roles include Assistant Director Naval Administration (2000-2001); Liaison Officer with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from March 2001-April 2002; Military Observer (MILOB) with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) between 2003-2004; Commanding Officer, Basic Leadership and Training School (2006-2007); ...Read More Member of Directing Staff (DS), Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) (2007, 2009-2010); MILOB UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) as Team Leader and Deputy Force Training Officer (2008-2009); DS Armed Forces Command & Staff College, Nigeria (2010-2012); Assistant Chief of Staff, Personnel & Administration, Ghana Armed Forces General Headquarters (2012-2013); Chief Instructor, Naval Faculty, GAFCSC (2013-2014). The Senior Officer was seconded to the United Nations Headquarters in New York as a Maritime Planning Officer from 11 July 2014 – 11 July 2016. On return home, he was posted to the Naval Headquarters as Director Administration in August 2016 until 1 August 2017 when he was appointed Director Naval Operations. He was appointed Chief Staff Officer at the Naval Headquarters from August 2019 – Jan 2022. Within his period as Chief Staff Officer, he was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding the Riverine Command as an additional responsibility from June 2021 – Jan 2022.

Cdre Bessing has also done other military staff and career courses including the following: Junior Staff Course in Nigeria (1997); Senior Staff Course at the GAFCSC (2002-2003); International Principal Warfare Officers Course, HMS Collingwood, UK (2005); Comparative Naval Staff Course, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (Jan-Jun 2006). He is a graduate of the Naval Command Course at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island from 2018 to 2019.

The Commodore is a graduate of the University of Ghana with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Economics and Statistics (6 Nov 89); the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where he earned a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (4 Jan 05). He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs from the Legon Centre for International Affairs, University of Ghana (31 Dec 14). Commodore Godwin Bessing is currently the Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Training Command. He is married with 2 children. During his spare time he loves to play table tennis, swim, work-out in the gym or walk his dog.