Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians prepare to 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 forklift operator brings his vehicle into place to load a C-130 aircraft 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

Gen-Lt. Vladimir Popov (center), Deputy Commander Russian Ground Forces (RGF) is briefed in the command center of USAREUR Exercise Atlas Vision on July 18, 2013. The exercise is held bi-annually at the at the Joint Multinational Simulation Center, a facility of the Joint Multinational Training Command, in Camp Aachen in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Gen-Lt. Popov is the guest of United States Army Europe Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Richard C. Longo (right) and was visiting JMTC facilities to observe Russian soldiers participating in the exercise. Atlas Vision is an annual bi-lateral U.S.-Russian Ground Forces exercise and consists of a brigade-level command post exercise and computer-assisted exercise and takes place at the Joint Multinational Training Command July 15-24, 2013. Atlas Vision is designed to promote military interoperability in areas and situations in which the two countries share mutual interests, such as joint peacekeeping tasks, coalition and regional stabilization, crisis-response, illegal weapons trafficking, search and rescue capabilities, counter-trafficking, and combating terrorism. (U.S. Army Photo).

South African and U. S. Army Soldiers rehearse raising and lowering the flags for Shared Accord '13 at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, July 21. 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

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

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

An M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle from the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division maneuvers through the sand in wadi Shadiya, Jordan during Exercise Eager Lion 2017 May 8. Eager Lion was a two-weeklong multinational exercise with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in order to exchange military expertise and improve interoperability among partner nations. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Leah R. Kilpatrick, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 1st Cavalry Division (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)

DRAWSKO POMORSKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland--A Lithuanian army tactical air control party trains with multinational providers of close air support during Operation Steadfast Jazz here Nov. 5.

NATO and partner nations are conduct Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 in Latvia and in Poland from Nov. 2 through 9. The event will mark the culmination of a series of dynamic and demanding exercises designed to train and test troops and commanders from the NATO Response Force (NRF).

The Steadfast series of exercises are part of NATO's efforts to maintain connected and interoperable forces at a high-level of readiness. To date, 17 exercises have been held in the series, with elements hosted in 14 different countries. The goal is to make sure that NRF troops are ready to deal with any situation in any environment. (NATO photo by US Army Sgt. A.M. LaVey/173 Airborne Public Affairs)

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.

Pfc. Nicholas Pianalto, a Soldier with 1st Squadron (Stryker), 2nd Cavalry Regiment takes instruction from the range NCOIC prior to throwing a hand grenade during familiarization training at an Estonian military training area near Tapa, Estonia, Oct. 24, 2014. The U.S. Army Europe-led Atlantic Resolve, a multinational combined arms exercise involving the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and host nations, takes place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to enhance multinational interoperability, to strengthen relationships among allied militaries, to contribute to regional stability and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by 1st Lt. Jeffrey Rivard)

A Polish F-16 takes off during the first day of the air portion of Ex Steadfast Jazz at 31st Air Tactical Base, Poznan, Poland, on Nov. 5, 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)

Polish 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)

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)

Jumpmaster, U.S. Army Capt. Craig D. Arnold, commander of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., looks out the window of the C-130J aircraft to prepare for a partnership jump over the Mimosa Flat Drop Zone, South Africa, July 23. The jump was in preparation for an exercise that South African and U.S. Soldiers will conduct jointly 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. The jump also earned each Soldier a pair of foreign wings for either jumping in a foreign country or jumping with a foreign country’s jumpmasters. (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

A Japanese soldier measures the wind value while conducting scout sniper training during Iron Fist 2014 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 31, 2014. Iron Fist is a three-week bilateral training event held annually between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force designed to increase interoperability between the two services while aiding the Japanese in their continued development of amphibious capabilities. (DoD photo by Cpl. Emmanuel Ramos, U.S. Marine Corps/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)

A british soldier is mapping the current position of the enemy. Exercise Allied Spirit includes more than 2,000 participants from Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States. Allied Spirit is exercising tactical interoperability and testing secure communications within Alliance members. More at www.eur.army.mil/JMTC/AlliedSpirit.html. (NATO Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stefan Hass - DEUA)

TAPA, Estonia - Private First Class Yannis Palvis, a guide-on bearer for the B Co., 2nd Btn., 8th Reg. Cavalry, 1st Bde., 1st Cavalry Div. from Fort Hood, Texas, stands at parade rest in front of a formation ready to welcome the Prime Minister of Estonia, Nov. 11, 2014. The Prime Minister's visit continues a tradition of partnership as a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a multinational combined arms exercise to enhance multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability, and demonstrate the U.S. commitment to NATO. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ray Boyington)

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 Soldier with the 9th South African Infantry Battalion reacts to a near ambush by opposition forces as smoke grenades go off nearby 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

The NATO flag is raised during the Opening Ceremony for Ex STEADFAST JAZZ at 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)

Algirdas Butkevicius (left), Prime Minister of Lithuania, Andris Berzins (2nd from left), President of Latvia, Bronislaw Komorowski (centre), President of Poland, Anders Fogh Rasmussen (2nd from right), NATO Secretary General, and Gen. Knud Bartels (right), Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, at the Press Event after 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)

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bryan Quinn (left), Pope Air Force Base, N.C., poses for a photo with a Uganda People's Defense Force logistic soldier 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

Battle Group Poland U.S. Soldiers practice a variety of combat casualty care tasks such as how to control bleeding, treat fractures and evacuate casualties using various buddy-carrying and litter techniques near the Bemowo Piskie Training Area during Saber Strike 17 June 9, 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 Charles Rosemond, Training Support Team Orzysz)

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)

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)

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)

Battle Group Poland U.S. combat engineer Sgt. Ethan Pratt shows his team an alternative tactic on planting an improvised explosive device during the mechanical breaching training near Bemowo Piskie Training Area June 9. 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. Kevin Wang/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

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.

Latvian Chief of Defense, Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube (right of center) and U.S. Chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Frank J. Grass (left of center) pose with service members from Latvia and the U.S. in the motor pool at Adazi Training Area, Latvia on Nov. 7, 2014. The two generals toured the cantonment and range area of the installation as 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)

Spanish engineers and Soldiers of the 1st platoon of U.S. Army Europe's 541st Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, head out on a route clearance mission during exercise Interdict 2012 in Spain, Oct. 31. The exercise hosted by the Spanish engineers was designed to foster and enhance interoperability and skills among engineer units practicing counter-improvised explosive device operations based on several IED events during a route clearance scenario. (Photo by Lt. Col. Wayne Marotto)

Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians study vehicle measurement techniques 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 Hohenfels Training Area as seen by U.S. Soldiers of Regimental Engineer Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment as they conduct reconnaissance operations during exercise Saber Junction 15 at the U.S. Armyâs Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, April 27, 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. Tyler Kingsbury)

A Polish Wolvarine Armoured Personnel Carrier in a dug-in location 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)

Elements of U.S. Army Europe's 2nd Cavalry Regiment head towards Hahnbach, a town near Grafenwoehr, Germany, during Saber Junction 2012, Oct. 15.The U.S. Army in Europe's exercise Saber Junction trains U.S. personnel and more than 1800 multinational partners from 18 European nations, ensuring interoperability between forces and an agile, ready coalition force.(U.S. Army Europe photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/Released)

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 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)

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 practice pallet employed by Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) logisticians 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

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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)

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

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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

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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)

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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

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Lance Cpl. Mina S. Gadelkarim engages upon targets using a M107 .50 Caliber Special Application Scoped Rifle as part of an unknown distance qualification range August 18 at Bradshaw Field Training Area, Northern Territory, Australia, during Exercise Koolendong 14. The range focused on increasing scout sniper's long range precision firing capabilities. The Marines challenged themselves with the M40 A5, M110 SASS and the M107 SASR. The SASR is used as an anti-material weapon, which can shoot effectively from up to 1,000 meters away. Marines are with Scout Sniper Platoon, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and are currently deployed in part of the Marine Rotational Force Darwin. The rotational deployment of U.S. Marines affords an unprecedented combined training opportunity with their Australian allies, and improves interoperability with their forces. Gadelkarim, a Campbell, Texas native, is a rifleman assigned to the platoon. (Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Joey S. Holeman, Jr./ Released)