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U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander, signs Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri’s, Kenya Chief of Defence Forces, welcome book during a meeting at the CHOD’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. Coming on the heels of the AFRICOM commander’s visit to Kenya with the U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary, Brennan’s visit marked the command’s continued interest in deepening coordination, intelligence sharing, and strengthening joint efforts to counter terrorist threats from al-Shabaab and other violent terrorist organizations. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 2 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
(left to right) Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces; U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; and U.S. Army Col. Scott Polasek, Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché, U.S. Embassy Nairobi, talk during a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. During the visit, Brennan gained insight into how continued partnership efforts between the U.S. and Kenyan defense forces were enabling KDF’s operational independence, agility, and technological capacity in cyber. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 3 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander, greets members of the Kenya Defence Force at Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 6, 2026. At Camp Simba, U.S. service members and Kenyan partners are directly supporting counterterrorism operations in East Africa, particularly in Somalia. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vivian Nakaana)
Photo 4 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya Chief of Defence (CHOD) Forces; and a delegation from AFRICOM and Kenyan Defence forces talk during a meeting in the CHOD’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. Coming on the heels of the AFRICOM commander’s visit to Kenya with the U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary, Brennan’s visit marked the command’s continued interest in deepening coordination, intelligence sharing, and strengthening joint efforts to counter terrorist threats from al-Shabaab and other violent terrorist organizations. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 5 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; and a member of the Kenya Defence Forces stand outside during a tree planting ceremony in front of the Moran Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. During the visit, Brennan gained insight into how continued partnership efforts between the U.S. and Kenyan defense forces were enabling KDF’s operational independence, agility, and technological capacity in cyber. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 6 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
Patches representing a member's affiliation with the Kenya Defence Force is attached to a Kenyan service member's uniform during a briefing at Camp Simba, Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 6, 2026. Camp Simba is a cooperative security location (CSL) where U.S. and Kenyan forces work collaboratively in a defense partnership to promote regional security and operations, supporting air, sea, and land missions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vivian Nakaana)
Photo 7 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander takes a picture with partners who support the Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (CJIATF) at Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 6, 2026. Alongside U.S. service members’ efforts to counter extremist threats, some missions at Camp Simba are multilateral and advanced through the CJIATF. As a multiagency team, the CJIATF’s joint initiatives focus on leveraging ISR coordination, information sharing, and synchronized efforts to sustain stability and address emerging security concerns across the region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vivian Nakaana)
Photo 8 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, deputy commander, U.S. Africa Command, presents coins to a group of U.S. Marines assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Embassy Security Group in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. Since Dec. 1948, Marines trained through the Marine Security Guard Program provide internal security and protection of U.S. Embassies and Consulates on a formal basis with the Department of State. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 9 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander speaks to U.S. service members who support AFRICOM operations during a visit to Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 6, 2026. Located near the Kenyan naval base in Manda Bay, Camp Simba is a cooperative security location (CSL) where U.S. and Kenyan forces work collaboratively in a defense partnership to promote regional security and operations, supporting air, sea, and land missions. At Camp Simba, U.S. service members and Kenyan partners are directly supporting counterterrorism operations in East Africa, particularly in Somalia. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vivian Nakaana)
Photo 10 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; and Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces talk during a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. While at the KDF Moran Centre, Brennan and Burje discussed the value of cyber technology in promoting regional security. (Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 11 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces; and defense leaders leave the Moran Centre following a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. While at the KDF Moran Centre, Brennan and Burje discussed the value of cyber technology in promoting regional security. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 12 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander, signs the visitor’s book after arriving at the Kenyan Defence Forces’ Moran Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. While at the KDF Moran Centre, Brennan and Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces, discussed the value of cyber technology in promoting regional security. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 13 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander, and Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya Chief of Defence Forces, talk during a meeting at the CHOD’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. “Kenya is a security anchor here in the region,” stated Brennan. “From hosting the command’s largest exercise in East Africa focused on enhancing peacekeeping capabilities or by participating in AFRICOM’s multilateral exercises to advance maritime security objectives, to synchronizing operational efforts to foster a safer, more secure, and prosperous East Africa, our partnership with the Kenyan Defence Forces is generational.” (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 14 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander, signs Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri’s, Kenya Chief of Defence Forces, welcome book during a meeting at the CHOD’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. Coming on the heels of the AFRICOM commander’s visit to Kenya with the U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary, Brennan’s visit marked the command’s continued interest in deepening coordination, intelligence sharing, and strengthening joint efforts to counter terrorist threats from al-Shabaab and other violent terrorist organizations. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 15 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces; and defense leaders leave the Moran Centre following a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. While at the KDF Moran Centre, Brennan and Burje discussed the value of cyber technology in promoting regional security. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 16 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
Two patches representing the U.S. and Kenyan defense forces lay on a table inside Kenya’s Chief of Defence’s headquarters building in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. Accompanied by the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché for Embassy Nairobi, U.S. Army Col. Scott Polasek, U.S. Africa Command deputy commander and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan's message of how partnerships united by shared security interests are critical to enabling joint operations and security cooperation efforts resonated with the KDF’s top officials - Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya Chief of Defence (CHOD) Forces; and Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 17 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
(left to right) Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces; U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; and U.S. Army Col. Scott Polasek, Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché, U.S. Embassy Nairobi, talk during a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 5, 2026. During the visit, Brennan gained insight into how continued partnership efforts between the U.S. and Kenyan defense forces were enabling KDF’s operational independence, agility, and technological capacity in cyber. (U.S. Department of War photo by Maj. Mahalia Frost)
Photo by: Maj. Mahalia Frost
Photo 18 of 18
U.S. - Kenya relations continue in countering terrorism as AFRICOM Deputy Commander Visits KDF
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U.S. Africa Command, deputy commander; and U.S. Army Col. Scott Polasek, Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché, U.S. Embassy Nairobi talk with a member of the Kenya Defence Forces during a visit to Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 6, 2026. Alongside U.S. service members’ efforts to counter extremist threats, some missions at Camp Simba are multilateral and advanced through the Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (CJIATF). As a multiagency team, the CJIATF’s joint initiatives focus on leveraging ISR coordination, information sharing, and synchronized efforts to sustain stability and address emerging security concerns across the region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Vivian Nakaana)
Photo by: Sgt. Vivian Ainomugisha
Covering more than 1,400 km in roughly 30 hours, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brennan, deputy commander, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), continued discussions on how AFRICOM and its partners can strategically counter terrorism in East Africa through various meetings and engagements with senior military leaders from the Kenyan Defence Forces in Nairobi and Manda Bay, Kenya, Feb. 5-6, 2026.
Accompanied by the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché for U.S. Embassy Nairobi, U.S. Army Col. Scott Polasek, Brennan’s message of how partnerships united by shared security interests are critical to enabling joint operations and security cooperation efforts resonated with the KDF’s top officials - Kenyan Gen. Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya Chief of Defence (CHOD) Forces; and Kenyan Maj. Gen. Abdulkadir Mohammed Burje, Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) for the Kenya Defence Forces.
“Kenya is a security anchor here in the region,” stated Brennan. “From hosting the command’s largest exercise in East Africa focused on enhancing peacekeeping capabilities or by participating in AFRICOM’s multilateral exercises to advance maritime security objectives, to synchronizing operational efforts to foster a safer, more secure, and prosperous East Africa, our partnership with the Kenyan Defence Forces is generational.”
Coming on the heels of the AFRICOM commander’s visit to Kenya with the U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary, Brennan’s visit marked the command’s continued interest in deepening coordination, intelligence sharing, and strengthening joint efforts to counter terrorist threats from al-Shabaab and other violent terrorist organizations.
During the visit, Brennan gained insight into how continued partnership efforts between the U.S. and Kenyan defense forces were enabling KDF’s operational independence, agility, and technological capacity in cyber.
While at the KDF Moran Centre, Brennan and Burje discussed the value of cyber technology in promoting regional security.
Following Brennan’s time in Nairobi, where he and KDF leaders discussed the strategic value of the defense forces’ efforts, his visit shifted to seeing how the combined joint planning for training and execution manifests on Kenya’s northeastern coast.
Manda Bay
Located near the Kenyan naval base in Manda Bay, Camp Simba is a cooperative security location (CSL) where U.S. and Kenyan forces work collaboratively in a defense partnership to promote regional security and operations, supporting air, sea, and land missions.
At Camp Simba, U.S. service members and Kenyan partners are directly supporting counterterrorism operations in East Africa, particularly in Somalia.
“There are multiple threat groups in Somalia, one of which is ISIS,” Brennan said. “Our partnership and presence here with the KDF provides us a power projection platform. A lot of the operations that we conduct in northern Somalia and a lot of our ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) assets and our ability to medically evacuate our partners from Somalia emanate from here at Camp Simba.”
After arriving in Manda Bay, Brennan met with U.S. service members for an immersion on their operations and tactical support to this command’s greater mission of countering transnational threats.
According to Brennan, “The threats are very real. Our American service members play a strategic role in the fight against ISIS to prevent attacks on our homeland and global community. Without their presence, here, we couldn’t counter the threats to international security.”
Alongside U.S. service members’ efforts to counter extremist threats, some missions at Camp Simba are multilateral and advanced through the Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (CJIATF).
As a multiagency team, the CJIATF’s joint initiatives focus on leveraging ISR coordination, information sharing, and synchronized efforts to sustain stability and address emerging security concerns across the region.
For Brennan, he described the multilateral relationship within the joint operations as highly effective, adding, “The partnership is very interoperable. We’re doing a lot of great work and making a lot of headway against al-Shabab to prevent threats from transiting from Somalia into Kenya.”
Though threats in East Africa persist, ongoing partnership efforts between the U.S. and Kenya’s military remain strong and evolve as the partners unite around shared objectives of promoting peace, security, and stability.
