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On 8/25/2010 3:18:10 PM Lieutenant Colonel Greg Mittman wrote
Kansas National Guard battalion commander recounts mission to Rwanda for CJTF-HOA
Note: Lieutenant Colonel Greg Mittman is the commander of the 2nd Infantry 137 Combined Arms Battalion of the Kansas National Guard deployed to Djibouti in support of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa
I prepared for the Rwanda mission for two months reading anything I could get my hands on. Most Westerners are familiar with the 1994 Genocide, mainly from the movie Hotel Rwanda. From my research I soon learned there is a rich history here, and Rwandans do not care for the movie as, according to our driver, it made heroes out of people who left the country and did not return.
The first thing you notice about Kigali, the capital, is how clean it is. President Paul Kagame emphasizes maintaining a neat and orderly appearance. Vehicle traffic is congested and motorcycle taxis dart in and out of much larger vehicles. Rwandans themselves are very friendly, but you get the impression there is sadness and perhaps a lack of openness in their interactions with outsiders.
We lodged at a former home converted to a bed and breakfast in northeast Kigali. From there we drove an hour through town and south to Gako where the Rwandan Defense Force (RDF) Military Academy is located. The battalion we partnered with had been training for a month in preparation for a peace keeping deployment to Darfur, Sudan. I was immediately impressed with their comprehension of U.S. military doctrine. They presented an operations order briefing based on staff planning conducted the previous two weeks. I have seen U.S. organizations do much worse. If it were not for using English as a second language I am confident they would have done very well. Of course, I am not too eager to brief in Kinyarwanda.
The Africa Contingency Operations and Assistance (ACOTA) staff members contracted through the Department of State are all former U.S. military and experts in their fields. I was very impressed with the senior mentor who I later learned spent time as a high school teacher after retiring from the U.S. Army Rangers. Two RDF Academy instructors, Captains Jimmie and Peterson, probably understood Staff Processes and TOC Operations as well as most U.S. Army company level officers. To be honest, I would love to have them on my staff. As their mentors, our interactions with the RDF were generally polite and subdued. When Jimmy and Peterson interacted with the battalion staff, voices raised and tempers seemed to flare. They seemed more comfortable engaging with each other than with Westerners.
The Battalion made progress during the command post exercise. Yet, when asked to continue their security mission and also plan a cordon and search they bogged down. All key players focused completely on the cordon and search and unknowingly allowed steady-state operations to grind to a halt. During the after-action review (AAR), quantitative data (message processing time, task completion rates) told the truth; the battalion had failed to conduct simultaneous operations.
I felt sad for the staff because I truly felt they were better than the AAR indicated, but what they were doing was so new to them, I think it is safe to say they learned a valuable lesson. As I told them while presenting my unit coins to a few worthy recipients, I am confident if allowed to do the exercise again, they would show much improvement.
My recollections of Rwanda will undoubtedly include the beautiful hills covering the countryside and the multitude of people crowding nearly every road. It will include the peace baskets purchased from local artists at Kaplaki Village and the soccer team we encountered in Rhungeri. I will never forget the emotion associated with visiting the church in Nyamata where 10,000 were killed and the Genocide Memorial in Kigali honoring the 800,000 killed in 100 Spring days of 1994. I will also not soon forget my impression that soldiers of the Rwandan Defense Force are serious and smart about their profession. They are intelligent and eager to learn. Given time and continued partnership I am confident they will.
On 11/4/2010 9:39:20 AM Anonymous in Unspecified wrote Wow souldur in Kansas, somewhere your NCO's failed you. Yes, the Non combat role we are currently engaged in throughout Africa is not as glamorous as the role in other theaters.
But, it no less important. By helping farmers learn to frow crops more efficiently, rebuilding schools and conducting MEDCAP VETCAP programs, we reduce the fertility of the soil used to grow violent extremism. putting an American face on these project builds good will and further reduces the potential that violent extremist will target US interests.
By training African Nations to act in a professional manner and conduct Peace Keeping operations, we reduce the need for US soldiers to shoulder that burden. Ever hear the term 'Force Multiplier'?
I suggest you sit down and read the National Security Strategy instead of maxing out your beer card at 11 degrees for a change.
On 11/3/2010 11:01:40 PM Souljer in Kansas wrote This entire mission to HOA is a joke. It amounts nothing more than using the US military to participate in a glorified Peace Corps mission. Lets use soldiers for teaching crop management, veterinarian skill, live stock control, building roads, bridges and the like. What a waste of America's warriors. The upper command and officers will of course billow winds out of their own mouths touting how essential and great this really is, when in reality the only reason that any of them take the mission is to put another deployment command in their military jacket and take 'look at me' photos. I speak from experience...I am one of the soldiers. Mission pathetic waste of money and good US soldiers.
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