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On 10/28/2009 4:04:38 PM General William E. Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command wrote
Over the last several years, I have had many opportunities to talk about partnering for peace, stability and security in Africa, but during the last several days, I have had the unique opportunity to see it in action during Exercise Natural Fire 10 in northern Uganda.
As I arrived at Entebbe Airport just south of the capital of Kampala, I want to share with you a story that best epitomizes what we are trying to do in Africa - and that is providing a framework so that Africans can build the capacity to solve African problems themselves. To reach the exercise, Burundian troops had to travel 1,200 kilometers overland. As they traveled north, the contingent was met and welcomed at the Rwandan border by the Rwandan contingent. These two groups of partner militaries drove to the Ugandan border with Rwanda, where they were met by the Ugandans, who linked them up with a Ugandan delegation. All three groups of troops (Burundians, Rwandans, and Ugandans) went together to the exercise site in Kitgum in northern Uganda. That is true cooperation and partnership in action! All done by the East African militaries themselves.
Partnering for peace and stability was the theme that I saw everywhere I traveled. As I toured the logistics and command-and-control sites near Entebbe Airport, I was amazed at the partnership I witnessed. It was not Americans doing it all for African nations; what I saw was Africans involved in every aspect of operations, logistics and command and control efforts.
That theme was witnessed again as we moved next to Kampala, where a table top exercise was being held to explore ways the East African civilian and military elements, as well as international partners, could team up to combat regional health issues like a pandemic outbreaks of influenza and other complex humanitarian emergencies. I witnessed firsthand how East African and African Union leaders discussed potential crises with international leaders from the United States, Europe, the United Nations, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization and many others to think about and plan for contingencies that may occur in the near future in Africa. Every person I spoke to said that the table top exercise was invaluable to preparedness in this region of Africa for the foreseeable future.
The next day began with a two-hour helicopter trip to the town of Kitgum in northern Uganda. Kitgum, which served as our Field Training Exercise (FTX) headquarters, was formerly a key base for the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and is only now beginning to recover from years of terror.
My party went to the FTX control center, where I received an excellent briefing from the senior Ugandan officer at Kitgum and met with the senior enlisted leaders of all five participating African militaries -- Ugandan, Kenyan, Burundian, Rwandan and Tanzanian. Each of these leaders was extremely upbeat about the exercise and said their service members had benefited tremendously from working with their partner nations and formed a bond that will increase understanding of each other's capabilities that will enhance stability and security in their region and across Africa.
Another superb event was the dedication of a dining hall at the Kitgum High School. This dedication culminated two weeks work by a combined team of military construction engineers and specialists from all of the partner nations. The ribbon cutting marked the first time in 15 years that the students of the high school (the dining hall was destroyed by the LRA) had a proper place to eat. The hall was dedicated to U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Sklaver who was killed in Afghanistan on October 2. Captain Sklaver was a Civil Affairs team leader working on projects in Kitgum and in other areas of northern Uganda two years ago. He was so taken with the plight of the people of the area that he started a non-profit organization called the Clearwater Initiative that constructs wells in the region. (For more, see www.clearwaterinitiative.org)
On Saturday, I had the honor of meeting with President Musevini and several other senior Ugandan leaders. We discussed the Exercise Natural Fire 10 and the superb cooperation that has been achieved by the East African Community as it seeks to achieve regional stability and security. Ambassador Lanier and his wife hosted a reception at their residence to conclude the visit. At the reception, I was struck by the very positive comments from the leaders representing the partner nations who participated to make Natural Fire 10 possible.
I sincerely appreciate the thanks I got on behalf of the United States. But, as I told them, it is not about us. If we can help in some small way to bring stability to their region and indeed Africa, then we have succeeded in our mission. The measure of our success is being seen by this generation, and will benefit future generations of the people of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and the United States. I truly believe that this exercise and exercises like it will not only bring the militaries of the region closer as they work to protect their people, but also the civilian leadership and emergency responders.
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