Commodore Philip Polewara has now been appointed as chief of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
Rear admiral is a two-star rank within the navy.
Meanwhile, Colonel Lari Opa was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and deputy PNGDF chief.
Prime Minister James Marape congratulated the two senior officers and urged that they work together to improve the standards of the military.
“This is the first in the history of the defence force,” he told Polewara.
“You joined the force 38 years ago and rose through the ranks.
“I must acknowledge your 39 years of unbroken contribution to the force.
“The country has appointed you as the defence force chief.”
It is the fourteenth time a PNGDF commander has been appointed.
Marape said amid all the country’s challenges, the PNGDF continued to establish itself as an office that kept PNG and its people together.
“I want to challenge the both of you to restore the mentality of our PNGDF,” he told Polewara and Opa.
“You two must help adding the stripes that we’ve earned.
“We want to ask you that the force must be brought up and we work with our partners.”
Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph said the Government had made a decision to promote the pair who were highly qualified and had strong work ethics.
He said with the PNGDF’s leadership confirmation after more than a year, it was critical that this decision had to be made in the interest of national security.
“We will get to work to get back to basics and take advantage of the current security challenges in the region and strategically align and modernise the PNGDF to meet our responsibilities,” Joseph said.
