Military Communication Experts Meet In Accra, Tuesday, May 1, 2012,( spread)
Military communication experts from across the world began a four-day meeting in Accra Mondayto plan strategies and tactics to equip some African countries with means to handle emerging and existing threats on the continent.
The meeting is the final planning conference of Africa Endeavour 2012 to be hosted by the Armed Forces of Cameroon.
Africa Endeavor 2012, which starts in Douala, Cameroon, in June, is expected to bring together more than 200 participants from 35 African nations, the US, Canada, The Netherlands and ECOWAS.
Africa Endeavour is the US government’s initiative, in partnership with the African Union (AU), aimed at developing command, control and communication tactics, techniques and procedures.
The exercise, which is expected to attract military and civilian participants from over 40 countries from the continent and beyond, is, among others things, meant to give the participating nations the opportunity to test their military communication equipment with a view to harmonising their inter-operability for future support of the Africa Standby Force Operations.
Since its inception in 2006, the programme has sought to improve the security capabilities of African partners by assisting in the development of common, standard military communication practices that will better support future operations in the African theatre.
Backed by regional bodies, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the AU, Africa Endeavour is expected to be used by the AU Standby Force to support peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations and counter-terrorism operations
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Air Vice-Marshal Christian E.K. Dovlo, said the project, to a large extent, measured the preparedness of the stakeholders to work together in combating threats to the collective interest of Africa and the international community.
Following misgivings by some African countries over the aims of the US Africa Command when it was launched some years back, the US has moved to market it as a humanitarian and security support force.
The US Navy Commander, Bryan McRoberts, lead planner for Africa Endeavor 2012, said the project provided the platform for the participating countries to build the capacity of participating countries and enhance their communication abilities.
He said to achieve the objectives of the project, “we must identify the information exchange requirements for effective communications support for the operations of the African Standby Force, build the communication architecture to meet those requirements and validate our procedures during exercise execution”.
A reference point for the need for a harmonised military communication, according to military experts, has always been the ECOMOG peacekeeping operation in Liberia in the 1980s.
That peacekeeping operation started off inauspiciously but was beset by problems with military equipment, logistics, training and inter-operability and aggravated by language differences.
ECOMOG units initially landed without intelligence or military maps of Monrovia, some without their personal weapons and with inadequate supplies of boots and uniforms and lacking adequate logistics.
The meeting is the final planning conference of Africa Endeavour 2012 to be hosted by the Armed Forces of Cameroon.
Africa Endeavor 2012, which starts in Douala, Cameroon, in June, is expected to bring together more than 200 participants from 35 African nations, the US, Canada, The Netherlands and ECOWAS.
Africa Endeavour is the US government’s initiative, in partnership with the African Union (AU), aimed at developing command, control and communication tactics, techniques and procedures.
The exercise, which is expected to attract military and civilian participants from over 40 countries from the continent and beyond, is, among others things, meant to give the participating nations the opportunity to test their military communication equipment with a view to harmonising their inter-operability for future support of the Africa Standby Force Operations.
Since its inception in 2006, the programme has sought to improve the security capabilities of African partners by assisting in the development of common, standard military communication practices that will better support future operations in the African theatre.
Backed by regional bodies, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the AU, Africa Endeavour is expected to be used by the AU Standby Force to support peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations and counter-terrorism operations
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Air Vice-Marshal Christian E.K. Dovlo, said the project, to a large extent, measured the preparedness of the stakeholders to work together in combating threats to the collective interest of Africa and the international community.
Following misgivings by some African countries over the aims of the US Africa Command when it was launched some years back, the US has moved to market it as a humanitarian and security support force.
The US Navy Commander, Bryan McRoberts, lead planner for Africa Endeavor 2012, said the project provided the platform for the participating countries to build the capacity of participating countries and enhance their communication abilities.
He said to achieve the objectives of the project, “we must identify the information exchange requirements for effective communications support for the operations of the African Standby Force, build the communication architecture to meet those requirements and validate our procedures during exercise execution”.
A reference point for the need for a harmonised military communication, according to military experts, has always been the ECOMOG peacekeeping operation in Liberia in the 1980s.
That peacekeeping operation started off inauspiciously but was beset by problems with military equipment, logistics, training and inter-operability and aggravated by language differences.
ECOMOG units initially landed without intelligence or military maps of Monrovia, some without their personal weapons and with inadequate supplies of boots and uniforms and lacking adequate logistics.
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the site is also really good.
ReplyDeleteMy website > Camille Chidiac LA