A clearinghouse of the U.S. Africa Command's senior leader's updates on issues important at AFRICOM.
We encourage your comments and feedback.
Click here to see our public feedback
On 11/16/2010 12:37:36 PM Sergeant Francisco Mendez, CJTF-HOA wrote
Uganda, it's a place where the heart is. I showed up in Uganda not knowing what to expect; all I knew is that I was going to be partnering with Uganda People's Defense Force to go over Combat Life Saving techniques. Well, was that wrong. I did do that, but it was not the only thing.
It started out when I got to the place where I would be lodging. My lieutenant and I wanted to go on a little run, so we did, right through a couple of little villages. We were welcomed by all the young kids chanting "Mazunga," meaning white man. They chanted and ran with us. I will never forget how happy they were to have us there and how proud it made me that someone could be so thrilled to see us. I remember my lieutenant saying "I feel like a rock star!" as we ran.
When we arrived to the training grounds I asked my driver who was who and what was what as we drove through the compound. We arrived at our classroom early each day and so did the students. This told me they were ready to learn and, let me tell you, they were. I had a group of soldiers who called me over as training was wrapping up to have me time them on the 9-Line Medevac Request. There was about five of them, each requested the first five lines in less than 15 seconds. This was very good since a lot of the soldiers could not read English and the textbook time is 25 seconds.
All the soldiers we worked with were enthusiastic to learn everything we had to show them. These soldiers trained as they waited in line on their own. Although we had a language barrier with some of the troops, they had great NCOs who didn't stop the teaching when class was over. The NCOs and other soldiers who could understand and comprehend everything got together with those who didn't, on their own personal time. This showed during the culminating event, where all 80 students, English speaking or not, completed all the tasks to standard. They knew all the things they were learning may someday save their fellow soldiers' life and their own.
These soldiers have the same love for life as you or me. I know without a doubt these men and women of uniform for the UPDF are combat ready and I would serve right next to them.
On 11/20/2010 12:58:23 AM Chris Harding in USA Indiana wrote Hello,
First, I hope you are having a nice day. If not, I hope it gets better soon
Next, I thank all persons who help people As you may know, there is a wealth of information available on Africa, health, and many of the problems in Africa. During my preparation for a gather post on Child Marriage, I discovered so much valuable data. In addition, the experience lead me to several Facebook Tedx platforms geared towards Africa. In fact, one is ran by the "Google executive" in Uganda.
As an ex soldier, I know that many soldiers fill their time with soldering and "playing". On the other hand, I know that many younger and older soldiers also look for data and articles that can help them understand their surroundings. If you are interested, I suggest the following
National Academies Press, Africa http://search.nap.edu/nap-cgi/de.cgi?term=africa&x=12&y=8
Entrez, The Life Sciences Search Engine http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery
World Health Organization, search term "africa" http://dosei.who.int/
University of California, eScholarship, Africa http://escholarship.org/uc/search?keyword=Africa
On 11/17/2010 3:10:05 AM CH MAJ Ike Eweama in FT Jackson SC wrote Thank you so much SGT Mendez for the good job you and those in Africom are doing in Africa. Thank you moreso for your honesty and for not only seeing the terrible condition that the people live with everyday in those villages but the brighter side of the soldiers willingness to learn.
PA mission to Ethiopia 1/8/2011 · By Airman 1st Class Jevon Smith
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa strategic communication combat camera videographer
VETCAP in Negele 1/8/2011 · Captain David Creech
402nd Civil Affairs Battalion functional specialty team veterinarian
Visiting Our Teams over the Holidays 1/4/2011 · Rear Admiral Brian Losey, commander, and Captain John Dixon, chief of staff, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa
From LTC David Knellinger on 9/10/2012 2:02:03 PM "The Central Africa Region Environmental Security Symposium, hosted by the United States Africa Command Environmental Security Program and the United Nations Environmental Programme..." (Read Full Entry)
From Brigadier General Stayce Harris on 7/19/2012 8:54:32 AM "The following blog is by Brigadier General Stayce Harris, U.S. Africa Command's mobilization reserve assistant to the commander.
Over the past 2 years, I have had the..." (Read Full Entry)
Herman in Pretoria wrote on 9/23/2012 5:46:33 PM "Awesome aircraft, thank you for the display! It is most appreciated...." (Read Full Entry)
Paul in UK wrote on 8/22/2012 9:16:10 AM "I was also involved in the communications training at Kisangani and share Michel Beya's comments I'm sure we met. What I saw was a very well trained battalion and hope that..." (Read Full Entry)
Mark in Fort Leavenworth wrote on 8/21/2012 10:25:29 PM "False allegations against Commander USAFRICOM appear to be in fashion. It is shameful that someone felt the need to assassinate the character of the previous commander — one ..." (Read Full Entry)
Anonymous in Unspecified wrote on 8/21/2012 10:06:10 PM "Glad to see this, and would love to see more. It's about time we start calling out publications that feel free to write whatever they want based on rumors and myths and not fac..." (Read Full Entry)
Anonymous in Unspecified wrote on 8/21/2012 10:03:43 PM "Congratulations for calling Ethiopian Review on the carpet. The contributor who stated that the clarification was not warranted is clearly very near sighted. It is exactly those so..." (Read Full Entry)