NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

U.S. Africa Command hosted members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, to conduct discussions about the challenges on NATO’s southern flank and security in Africa, Mar. 21, 2019.

By Becky Farmer , U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Stuttgart, Germany Mar 25, 2019

View Gallery

Gallery contains 3 images

Photo 1 of 3

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg Olson, U.S. Africa Command director of operations (J3), addresses a NATO Parliamentary delegation visit to AFRICOM headquarters March 21, 2019. NATO Parliamentarians from 11 countries and Senior U.S. Africa Command Staff discuss shared goals on the African continent and challenges posed to NATO's southern flank.

Download image

Photo by: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Grady Jones

Photo 2 of 3

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

Ms. Rasa Jukneviciene of Lithuania, Former President of the NATO PA and current Vice Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships, speaks during a NATO Parliamentary delegation visit to AFRICOM Headquarters March 21, 2019. NATO Parliamentarians from 11 countries and Senior U.S. Africa Command Staff discuss shared goals on the African continent and challenges posed to NATO's southern flank.

Download image

Photo by: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Grady Jones

Photo 3 of 3

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. James Vechery, AFRICOM deputy to the commander for military operations, addresses a NATO Parliamentary delegation during visit to AFRICOM Headquarters March 21, 2019. NATO Parliamentarians from 11 countries and Senior U.S. Africa Command Staff discuss shared goals on the African continent and challenges posed to NATO's southern flank.

Download image

Photo by: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Grady Jones

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), to conduct discussions about the challenges on NATO’s southern flank and security in Africa, Mar. 21, 2019.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, created in 1955, is institutionally separate from NATO, but serves as an essential link between NATO and the parliaments of the NATO nations. It provides greater transparency of NATO policies and fosters better understanding of the Alliance’s objectives and missions among legislators and citizens of the Alliance.

The visit included briefings from AFRICOM senior leaders about the AFRICOM mission and campaign plan, regional security threats in North Africa and the Sahel, and AFRICOM operations in those regions. A roundtable discussion hosted by U.S Air Force Lt. Gen. James C. Vechery, AFRICOM deputy to the commander for military operations, followed the briefs and included command senior staff for intelligence, operations, logistics, strategy, and foreign policy.

The NATO PA delegation represented the NATO PA Subcommittees on NATO Partnerships (PCNP) and on Transatlantic Economic Relations (ESCTER), and was led by Mr. Miro Kovac, Chairperson of the PCNP, and Jean-Luc Reitzer, vice-chairperson of the ESCTER. The group was comprised of 20 parliamentarians from 11 countries.

The NATO PA delegation guided the roundtable discussion that focused on shared objectives for involvement on the African continent, including how to assist African nations in a manner that respects the countries’ heritage and cultural norms. Migration also featured prominently on the agenda of the exchanges.

“Individually, we cannot make an impact,” Vechery said. “But together, with our international, interagency, and African partners, we can build develop African solutions that enable security, stability, and prosperity.”

The briefings and discussions between AFRICOM and the NATO PA will provide valuable information for the General Report of the NATO Political Committee, which will focus on “Challenges from the South.”

U.S. Military Chaplains Increase Readiness at SADC Chaplains Conference

Flintlock 2025: 20 Years of Enhancing SOF Readiness in Africa

USAFRICOM Successfully Tests AI-Powered Personnel System During Continuity of Operations Exercise

U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting ISIS-Somalia

U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting al Shabaab

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

U.S. Africa Command hosted members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, to conduct discussions about the challenges on NATO’s southern flank and security in Africa, Mar. 21, 2019.

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM

NATO Parliamentarians Visit AFRICOM