A Hungarian soldier assigned to the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Brigade provides security while holding a defensive position during exercise Saber Junction 15 at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, April 20, 2015. Saber Junction 15 prepares NATO and partner nation forces for offensive, defensive, and stability operations and promotes interoperability among participants. Saber Junction 15 has more than 4,700 participants from 17 countries, to include: Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and the U.S. More at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian Chaney/Released)

Opposing forces Soldier Pvt. Clinton Lopez of Mcloud, Okla., fires a squad assault weapon at Bulgarian forces advancing to the mock village. As part of Exercise Saber Junction 14, Bulgarian soldiers attacked and cleared a village against opposing forces of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment Soldiers Aug. 30 at Hohenfels Training Area. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina Dion/Released)

(from left to right) Army Lt. Col. Dickie J. Vest, 176th Medical Brigade, South African Army Maj. Ron Tidbury, 43rd South African Brigade, and 2nd Lt. Jessica A. Morley, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Armored Brigade Combat Team, discuss plans for Shared Accord '13 at a reconnaissance site near Bhisho, South Africa, July 20. Shared Accord is an annual training exercise which promotes regional relationships, increases capacity, trains U.S. and South African forces, and furthers cross-training and interoperability. (U.S. Army Africa photos by Spc. Taryn Hagerman)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Crew of a Polish Wolvarine Armoured Personnel Carrier practice demounting and taking up defencive positions during a live fire exercise on Exercise Steadfast Jazz at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, on Nov. 6, 2013.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is taking place from 1-9 November in a number of Alliance nations including the Baltic States and Poland. The purpose of the exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO’s efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness.

(NATO photo/SSgt Ian Houlding GBR Army)

MUARA, Brunei (June 18, 2013) Malaysian Lt. Col. Dr. Ngoo Kay Seong, left, speaks with the U.S. Navy medical professionals at a Level 2 hospital as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (AHMX). Surgeons, doctors and nurses from the armed forces of India, Malaysia and the U.S. began providing care to simulated casualties during the multilateral exercise, which provides a platform for regional partner nations to address shared security challenges, strengthen defense cooperation, enhance interoperability and promote stability in the region.

U.S. Airmen inspect an F-35A Lightning II during an Agile Combat Employment training exercise on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Oct. 26, 2021. Maintainers from JBER and Eielson Air Force Base gathered to teach each other maintenance techniques for their respective aircraft, developing the teams’ Agile Combat Employment capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Patrick Sullivan)

Gen. David Rodriguez, second from left, commanding general of U.S. Africa Command, gestures toward a sand table model to members of the U.S. Embassy in South Africa and Lt. Gen. Derrick Mgwebi, South Africa National Defense Force chief of Joint Operations, Aug. 2 prior to a live-fire exercise. Rodriguez is in South Africa to observe Shared Accord 13, a biennial training event designed to increase capacity and enhance interoperability between the South African and U.S. militaries.

(U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. Daniel Stoutamire)

b>To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Cpt. Jason Smedley, with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment out of Little Rock, Ark., discusses basic rifle marksmanship skills with Soldiers from Burkina Faso during Exercise Western Accord 14, June 19. Exercise Western Accord is a partnership exercise between the United States, Economic Community of West Africa States and other partnered nations, which is designed to increase interoperability between military forces and ensure the common ability to conduct peace operations throughout Western Africa. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. William Gore)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Sgt. Reuben Hottel, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, reacts to a near ambush by opposition forces July 26 near Alicedale, South Africa during Shared Accord 13. Shared Accord is a biennial training exercise which promotes regional relationships, increases capacity, trains U.S. and South African forces, and furthers cross-training and interoperability. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Spc. Taryn Hagerman)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

The nuts and bolts — Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

A Bulgarian soldier of the Engineer Platoon secures a steel picket used to construct a wire obstacle during exercise Saber Junction 15 at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, April 21, 2015. Saber Junction 15 prepares NATO and partner nation forces for offensive, defensive and stability operations and promotes interoperability among participants. Saber Junction 15 has more than 4,700 participants from 17 countries, to include: Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and the U.S. More at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gemma Iglesias/Released)

After walking about 3 kilometers through forests, Paratroopers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, made their way from the air assault infiltration location and tactically moved on foot through thick vegetation. Their objective was to conduct a deliberate attack on the military operations on an urban terrain site known as Haaslat Village at Hohenfels Training Area Aug. 28. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina M. Dion/Released)

Cpt. Jason Smedley, with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment out of Little Rock, Ark., discusses basic rifle marksmanship skills with Soldiers from Burkina Faso during Exercise Western Accord 14, June 19. Exercise Western Accord is a partnership exercise between the United States, Economic Community of West Africa States and other partnered nations, which is designed to increase interoperability between military forces and ensure the common ability to conduct peace operations throughout Western Africa. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. William Gore)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Visitors observe the LIVEX demonstration on Exercise Steadfast Jazz at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, on Nov. 7, 2013.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is taking place from 1-9 November in a number of Alliance nations including the Baltic States and Poland. The purpose of the exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO’s efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness.

(NATO photo/SSgt Ian Houlding GBR Army)

AEGEAN SEA (Sept. 4, 2017) HS Salamis (F455) with Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) flagship HMS Duncan (D37) during a Passing Exercise (PASEX) in the Aegean Sea. The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from various allied countries. These vessels, including their air assets, are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participating in exercises to intervening in operational missions. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability for operations and other activities in peacetime and in periods of crisis and conflict. They also help to establish Alliance presence, demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits to different countries, practice interoperability with Allied Navies and provide a variety of military maritime capabilities to ongoing missions. Courtesy photo by Hellenic Navy.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bryan Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., mentors Uganda People's Defense Force logistics soldiers in vehicle measurement for aircraft loading in Entebbe, Uganda

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

Opposing forces Soldier Pvt. Clinton Lopez of Mcloud, Okla., fires a squad assault weapon at Bulgarian forces advancing to the mock village. As part of Exercise Saber Junction 14, Bulgarian soldiers attacked and cleared a village against opposing forces of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment Soldiers Aug. 30 at Hohenfels Training Area. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina Dion/Released)

GRE PSR-600 digital scanner audio from Monroe County, NY Sheriff Dispatch using a Motorola P-25 UHF system... followed by a segment from the Pittsford School District UHF repeater in analog mode (school buses queuing at school)... and Town of Brighton Police back in P-25 digital mode.

In P-25 mode, radio displays specific digital assignment (like P25:7F3). If code is unknown, radio automatically scans all codes to locate the correct one. Same for PL/DPL assignments.

Monroe County (Rochester) is located in upstate NY bordering Lake Ontario.

Law enforcement (City, County and Towns) use about 30 UHF frequencies, all P-25. Fire and EMS use 20+ VHF analog channels.

NY State Troopers, NY Dept of Environmental Conservation (law enforcement div), medical examiners, probation, state university police and others also have access to this system for interoperability.

Military personnel representing more than 30 African nations erect communications equipment at an air force base in Lusaka, Zambia, Aug. 10, 2013, during exercise Africa Endeavor 2013. Africa Endeavor is a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored multinational communications exercise intended to encourage interoperability and information exchange among African nations via communications networks and subsequent collaborative links with the United States, the African Union and other African nations. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Zach Sheely/Released)

Crew of a Polish Wolvarine Armoured Personnel Carrier practice demounting and taking up defencive positions during a live fire exercise on Exercise Steadfast Jazz at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, on Nov. 6, 2013.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is taking place from 1-9 November in a number of Alliance nations including the Baltic States and Poland. The purpose of the exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO’s efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness.

(NATO photo/SSgt Ian Houlding GBR Army)

A German Army Leopard II tank commander, assigned to 104th Panzer Battalion, talks to an U.S. Army Europe Observer-Controller after his tank being hit during Saber Junction 2012 at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Oct. 25. The U.S. Army Europe's exercise Saber Junction trains U.S. personnel and 1800 multinational partners from 18 nations ensuring multinational interoperability and an agile, ready coalition force.

(U.S. Army Europe photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/released)

Capt. Jedmund Greene (in background), 21st Theater Support Command, 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, takes part in mentoring Ugandan military logisticians in vehicle measurement for deployment during air load planning certification in Entebbe, Uganda.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

Estonian soldiers dismount their vehicle and take a defensive position during an STX (simulated training exercise) lane at Hohenfels Training Area Aug. 27. Saber Junction 14 is a large-scale, joint, multinational, annual military exercise, involving hundreds of aircraft and vehicles and thousands of personnel from 16 different nations. The exercise will prepare brigade-level units for worldwide contingency operations. The exercise further focuses U.S., NATO, and partner forces on concepts such as decisive and sustainable land operations through the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations and on interoperability with partnered nations. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina M. Dion/Released)

Soldiers from 14 nations took part in the Rapid Trident 2018 closing ceremony, Sept. 14. Rapid Trident is an annual exercise that builds military interoperability through establishing professional relationships and sharing shoulder-to-shoulder experiences. (US Army photo by Lacey Justinger, 7th Army Training Command)

Soldiers from 14 nations took part in the Rapid Trident 2018 closing ceremony, Sept. 14. Rapid Trident is an annual exercise that builds military interoperability through establishing professional relationships and sharing shoulder-to-shoulder experiences. (US Army photo by Lacey Justinger, 7th Army Training Command)

Gen. David Rodriguez, center, commanding general of U.S. Africa Command, speaks with Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee Magee, commander of 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, while visiting the battalion's area of operations Aug. 2. Rodriguez is in South Africa to observe the biennial training event, which is designed to increase capacity and enhance interoperability between the South African and U.S. militaries. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. Daniel Stoutamire)

b>To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

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Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg (left to right), Commander, U.S. Army Africa; Craig Anderson, Charge’ d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Malawi; and Lt. Col. Ronald E. Zessin, 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Illinois Army National Guard, and MEDREACH 11 exercise commander; discuss the progress of MEDREACH 11 in Lilongwe, Malawi, May 7, 2011.

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel Stinson, 139th MPAD, Illinois Army National Guard

Soldiers from the 399th Combat Support Hospital instructed Malawi Defence Force (MDF) medical staff and Soldiers from the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Battalion, May 5, at the Kamuzu Barracks, on a variety of procedures to help them better respond to combat-related injuries. The four-day course is designed to be an information-sharing exercise between the MDF and U.S. Soldiers participating in MEDREACH 11, a joint humanitarian medical exercise taking place in Malawi.

“Their Soldiers are very intelligent,” said 1st Lt. Jason J. Proulx, a Combat Life Saver instructor with the 399th Combat Support Hospital in Mass. “They are asking very appropriate questions and answering appropriately. I have no doubt that there will be a 100 percent pass rate.”

Proulx, a Londonderry, N.H. native, says the confidence he has in the medical abilities of the Malawian Soldiers comes from the competence many of them have displayed throughout the Combat Life Saver course. Several Malawian Soldiers in Proulx’s class have attended and completed the same U.S. Army medical schools required of military combat medics.

While the Malawi Forces have not had to respond to combat injuries in recent years, MDF soldiers like Staff Sgt. Crantor A. Mwase, a regimental health orderly, believes there is still a great need for trauma training and that U.S. Soldiers have valuable medical instruction to share with their servicemembers.

“This Combat Life Saver has come at the right time,” said Mwase. “It is giving us more knowledge than we had in the past. I think it will make the Malawi Defence Force stronger and more capable.”

Mwase said the training is especially important due to the possibility of future military contingencies, including ongoing MDF mobilization to support the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast. He said the training is timely for the MDF and equips them with the knowledge to save lives.

“The Malawian Defence Force is more or less specialized in tropical medicine so trauma, in general, is not their specialty and that is what we are here to help with,” said Spc. Ian P. Powers, combat medic with the 399th Combat Support Hospital in Mass. “This would not only benefit them on the battlefield, but also with local motor vehicle accidents and any other kinds of trauma that they would find in their own country.”

The Combat Life Saver training included classroom instruction, followed by hands-on practical exercises to validate of what the participants had learned. Soldiers from both forces learned things like the application of a tourniquet, assessing a wounded Soldier, and finished with practicing needle-chest decompression using a special training aid – a goat cadaver, which later became the main course at the class barbecue.

Focused on building relationships, participants and instructors share information and experiences to ensure MDF Soldiers have the capability to teach the information to others. Once the medical staff of the MDF is able to become proficient on Combat Life Saver skills, they will then be able to start training their non-medical Soldiers. The 399th Combat Support Hospital is donating books and instruction guides to make this initiative a reality.

“Our goal is to teach the Malawi Defence Force the essentials of the Combat Life Saver’s course so they can, in turn, teach. That’s the biggest mission here,” said Proulx. “It’s important because the more people that you have that can provide any form of medical treatment the more lives you can save.”

“I hope that this helps a little,” said Spc. Angela T. Langley, a combat medic with the 399th Combat Support Hospital. “I know that they were talking about some of them being deployed to the Ivory Coast and I hope that they benefit from this and they take away from it. I hope we enhance their medical capabilities.”

Both forces benefit from the training, as MDF Soldiers will later don the instructor role by teaching U.S. servicemembers about tropical diseases, like malaria, and how to prevent them.

The culminating event of the Combat Life Saver course includes testing to affirm all troops Combat Life Saver-certified. Given the number of personnel involved and the overall success rate of the practical exercises, participants believe the entire training audience can walk away having achieved their goals.

“I am very excited that the U.S. Armed Forces are here,” said Mwase. “You have been helping us for a long time and we ask your country, the USA, to continue helping us.”

MEDREACH, a key program in the United States’ efforts to partner with the Government of Malawi, is the latest in a series of exercises involving U.S. military forces and African partner militaries with the aim of establishing and developing military interoperability, regional relationships, synchronization of effort and capacity-building.

The goal of MEDREACH 11 is to enhance U.S. and Malawi Defence Forces capabilities to work together and to increase the combined readiness of their medical forces to respond to humanitarian emergencies.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Students from the Masincedane Training Centre greet U.S. and South African military members by singing to them outside of their school, where the volunteers will paint and plant in the garden as a joint community engagement during Shared Accord 13. Shared Accord is a biennial training exercise which promotes regional relationships, increases capacity, trains U.S. and South African forces, and furthers cross-training and interoperability. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Spc. Taryn Hagerman)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

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HOHENFELS, Germany -- Romanian soldiers stand guard during a key leader engagement at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center here Oct. 12 as part of exercise Saber Junction. U.S. Army Europe's exercise Saber Junction trains U.S. personnel and more than 1800 multinational partners from 18 different nations ensuring multinational interoperability and an agile, ready coalition force. (U.S. Army Europe photo by Staff Sgt. Joel Salgado)

Battle Group Poland Romanian soldiers set up and test their Oerlikon GDF-203 35mm twin cannon anti-aircraft weapon during the Saber Strike 2017, at Bemowo Piskie Training Area near Orzysz, Poland, June 13, 2017. Saber Strike 17 is a U.S. Army Europe-led multinational combined forces exercise conducted annually to enhance the NATO alliance throughout the Baltic region and Poland. This year's exercise includes integrated and synchronized deterrence-oriented training designed to improve interoperability and readiness of the 20 participating nations' militaries. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Stefan English)

A Royal Danish Army soldier, left, of 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Guard Hussar Regiment, and a U.S. Soldier, right, of 91st Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, provide medical assistance to a simulated casualty, a Romanian soldier of 21st Mounted Battalion, during exercise Combined Resolve III at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Nov. 3, 2014. Combined Resolve III is a multinational exercise, which includes more than 4,000 participants from NATO and partner nations, and is designed to provide a complex training scenario that focuses on multinational unified land operations and reinforces the U.S. commitment to NATO and Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ian Schell)

Crew of a Polish Wolvarine Armoured Personnel Carrier practice demounting and taking up defencive positions during a live fire exercise on Exercise Steadfast Jazz at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, on Nov. 6, 2013.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is taking place from 1-9 November in a number of Alliance nations including the Baltic States and Poland. The purpose of the exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO’s efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness.

(NATO photo/SSgt Ian Houlding GBR Army)

Latvian 1st Lt. Aleksandrs Naumovs discusses the joint training he and his soldiers are executing as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Adazi Training Area, Latvia on Nov. 7, 2014. Naumovs is part of a Latvian engineer unit, which does not have the heavy equipment capabilities U.S. engineer units possess. The opportunity to train on U.S. equipment is educational and builds interoperability of forces between the U.S. and Latvian armies. The familiarization was part of the U.S. Army Europe-led Operation Atlantic Resolve land force assurance training taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to enhance multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kenneth C. Upsall /released)

ARTA TRAINING RANGE, Djibouti (Oct. 6, 2015) U.S. Marine Cpl. Michael Odintz engages targets during a desert survival and tactics course. Odintz is a squad leader with Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Detachment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Elements of the 15th MEU trained with the 5th Overseas Combined Arms Regiment (RIAOM) in Djibouti from Sept. 21 to Oct. 7 in order to improve interoperability between the MEU and the French military. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Steve H. Lopez/Released)

A Slovenian tank returns to its fire position at Hohenfels Training Area Sept. 4. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina M. Dion/Released)

After walking about 3 kilometers through forests, Paratroopers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, made their way from the air assault infiltration location and tactically moved on foot through thick vegetation. Their objective was to conduct a deliberate attack on the military operations on an urban terrain site known as Haaslat Village at Hohenfels Training Area Aug. 28. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina M. Dion/Released)

Estonian troops conduct a march past during the Opening Ceremony for Ex STEADFAST JAZZ on the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, on Nov. 3, 2013.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is taking place from 1-9 November in a number of Alliance nations including the Baltic States and Poland. The purpose of the exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO’s efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness.

(NATO photo/SSgt Ian Houlding GBR Army)

In 2009 Hungary became the first country to host a Lion Effort exercise, and has come to the 2012 event at Ronneby eager to build upon that experience and extract the maximum benefit from flying in a multi-national exercise. This includes the validation under operational conditions of the interoperability of its aircraft with those of other nations.

“At the main planning conference [for Lion Effort 2012] it was decided to not only do some BVR [beyond visual range engagements] and COMAO [combined air operations], but also to test the interoperability between the different ountries,” said Lt Col Csaba Ugrik, commander of the Hungarian detachment. “We wanted to check out how the link works for the Swedes, Czechs and Hungarians, and also the Link 16 [available to Hungary and Sweden] and Have Quick radio. That is one focus for us, checking this interoperability.”

After just one mission during the familiarisation phase good progress was already being made. “On the first day we did some common flying with the Swedes, and the Link 16 worked well, so that is some small success already,” reported Ugrik.

Another focus for the Hungarian detachment is the planning and debriefing capabilities of the latest iteration of the Gripen Mission Support System. The MSS is used by all four Gripen nations flying aircraft in the exercise, and has evolved in a rolling programme to maintain pace with updates to Gripen software and system developments.

Those updates have seen the latest Gripen system software (Edition 19 Block II) issued to Hungary some three to four weeks ago. As with the Czechs, the Hungarians are keen to test the new software in an operational environment. Colonel Ugrik commented that, “for the Swedes, the Czechs and us, I think it is the first time that we are all on the same software block.”

During Lion Effort another area of interest for Hungary will be on expanded co-operation with other Gripen users in the future. “We also have a couple of new guys on the squadron who have never been on an exercise before,” added Ugrik, “so it’s good for the newcomers to experience these kinds of operations.”

Hungary plans to develop an air-to-air refuelling capability in the near future. According to Ugrik, “we already have it in the contract from the Swedish side to teach us refuelling, but at the moment we have no contracts within NATO to call in a tanker, so we don’t want to start training yet because we would not be able to maintain currency. When there is a clearer situation and we are a member of the tanker community, then we are planning to add refuelling.”

Belgian Army and U.S. Soldiers pose for a group photo during exercise Saber Junction 15 at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, April 23, 2015. Saber Junction 15 prepares NATO and partner nation forces for offensive, defensive, and stability operations and promotes interoperability among participants. Saber Junction 15 has more than 4,700 participants from 17 countries, to include: Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and the U.S. (U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/Released)

As part of Exercise Saber Junction 14, Bulgarian soldiers attacked and cleared a village against opposing forces of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment Soldiers Aug. 30 at Hohenfels Training Area. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina Dion/Released)

Opposing forces Soldier Pvt. Clinton Lopez of Mcloud, Okla., fires a squad assault weapon at Bulgarian forces advancing to the mock village. As part of Exercise Saber Junction 14, Bulgarian soldiers attacked and cleared a village against opposing forces of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment Soldiers Aug. 30 at Hohenfels Training Area. Exercise Saber Junction 2014 includes participants from the U.S., NATO allies and European security partners, conducting unified land operations at the 7th Army's Joint Multinational Training Command's Hohenfels Training Area. The exercise trains units in the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations while improving international interoperability, commitment to NATO and allied nations and strategic access to critical areas within the European Command's area of responsibility. More information about Saber Junction 2014 can be found at www.eur.army.mil/SaberJunction/ (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christina Dion/Released)

Military personnel and delegates from more than 40 nations begin the scenario-driven exercise portion of Africa Endeavor (AE) 2013, Aug. 12, 2013, in Lusaka, Zambia. AE is a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored multinational communications exercise intended to encourage interoperability and information exchange among African nations via communications networks and subsequent collaborative links with the United States, the African Union and other African nations.(DoD photo by Spc. Zach Sheely, U.S. Army National Guard/Released)

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 4th Infantry Division, secure a landing zone as two UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters operated by B Company, 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division fly away after dropping off the Soldiers during exercise Ulhan Fury currently being held at the General Silvestras Zlikaliskas Training Area, Pabrade, Lithuania, Aug. 12, 2015. Ulhan Fury is a bilateral military exercise with Lithuanian Land Forces Soldiers assigned to 2nd Coy, Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion (BUB). The Soldiers of Dog Company are in Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve, a demonstration of continued U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and to enduring peace and stability in the region. U.S. Army Europe is leading Atlantic Resolve enhanced land force multinational training and security cooperation activities taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria to ensure multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. James Avery, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

A Soldier with the 9th South African Infantry Battalion reacts to a near ambush by opposition forces July 26 near Alicedale, South Africa, part of Shared Accord 13. Shared Accord is a biennial training exercise designed to increase capacity and enhance interoperability across the South African and U.S. militaries. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Spc. Taryn Hagerman)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- U.S. Army Europe Capt. Ryan Yaun, assigned to 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as 2CR, studies a map near Grafenwoehr, Germany, during Saber Junction 2012, Oct. 15. The U.S. Army Europe's exercise Saber Junction trains the 2CR and 1800 multinational partners from 18 nations ensuring multinational interoperability and an agile, ready coalition force.

(U.S. Army Europe photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/released)

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians load palletized material during a hands-on segment of Uganda ADAPT 2010, a mentoring program conducted in Entebbe, Uganda, that resulted in certifying 25 soldiers as C-130 aircraft load planners.

U.S. Army photo by Gordon Christensen

A U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) organized Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) recently trained, and for the first time ever, certified 25 soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) as C-130 aircraft load planners in Entebbe, Uganda.

A five-person team, led by Gordon Christensen of Army Africa’s G-4 Mobility Division, completed Phase III training with UPDF soldiers Aug. 27 in Entebbe, Uganda, said John Hanson, chief of the G-4 Policy and Programs Branch.

“This was the first actual air load certification we’ve done, of all the previous ADAPT engagements,” Hanson said. “That’s what makes it unique.”

Two weeks of classroom instruction and hands-on training enabled 25 of 31 students to earn U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Form 9 certification, significantly augmenting the Uganda land force’s air deployment capability, while developing greater interoperability with U.S. military forces, Hanson said.

The ADAPT program, developed to enhance the force projection capabilities of African militaries, is managed by the USARAF G-4 staff. Its aim is to bridge the gap between limited deployment capacity and the need to provide forces in support of peacekeeping or humanitarian relief operations, Hanson said.

“We’re building capacity for people to deploy, to do their own missions,” he said.

Even when the training doesn’t lead to actual U.S. Air Force certification, as it did this time in Uganda, it contributes to an enhanced deployment capacity for the land force involved, Hanson said.

“That’s the intent. They can’t do the certification, but they can continue to train their own people. Then we back off and they continue to do that,” he said.

The program is a Title 22 tactical logistics engagement funded by the U.S. Department of State, and focuses on African countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping operations, Hanson said.

Training is executed in four installments in order to create a long-term, phased approach to building deployment capacity, Hanson said. Instructors take students from a general orientation to tactical deployment principles to an advanced level of practical proficiency.

Instructors for the UPDF course were sourced using the Request For Forces (RFF) process, Hanson said.

Christensen was accompanied U.S. Army Capt. Jedmund Greene of 21st Theater Support Command’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and three Air Force noncommissioned officers: Tech. Sgt. Venus Washington, Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Byran Quinn, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Anthony D. Tate of the Illinois Air National Guard.

“The training helped to strengthen the relationship with our Ugandan partners, and also helped them build a self-sustaining deployment capacity,” Greene said. “I hope 21st TSC can increase its support to USARAF logistics theater security cooperation events in the future.”

Army Africa’s G-4 staff is presently working to synchronize ADAPT with the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. A proof of concept joint training was conducted with ACOTA in Rwanda earlier this year, combining tactical- and support-staff training in logistics with the more complex operational techniques of force deployment and mobility, Hanson said.

The Rwanda training demonstrated the feasibility of combining available U.S. government resources to achieve the most efficient and focused effort to advance common foreign policy objectives with U.S. partners in Africa, he said.

To date, ADAPT missions have been funded for eight African countries. Previous training sessions have been conducted in Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso as well as Uganda, and the number is likely to grow in coming years, Hanson said.

“The programs were identified as being of interest to several other countries during the Army Africa Theater Army Security Cooperation Conference, held in Vicenza in August,” Hanson said.

The next planned ADAPT mission is for Phase I training in Botswana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, he said.

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