U.S. Africa Command hosted a security cooperation seminar in early November for U.S. military and civilian personnel, including foreign nationals employed by the U.S. Defense Department, responsible for coordinating military programs at the U.S. Embassies in 25 African nations.



The Combined Educational Training seminar was hosted by the command's directorate for Strategy Plans and programs at the Pullman Hotel in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, November, 2, 2009.



The training seminar provided U.S. Africa Command orientation and instruction to members of U.S. AFRICOM's Offices of Security Cooperation (OSC) who are responsible for administering security cooperation programs as well as Combating Terrorism Fellowship Education programs in Africa.



The director of Strategy, Plans and Programs, Major General Richard Sherlock, welcomed the guests and formally kicked off the seminar. "It's really important for you to be here, to learn techniques and concepts that will help allow better skilled Security Cooperation Organisation personnel to meet education and training goals," said Sherlock.



Participants of the seminar were given an overview of the command's security cooperation programs. They were also able to familiarize themselves with the Security Assistance Network and Training Management System (TMS).



During the security cooperation overview, the peacekeeper training program, African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA), was highlighted. ACOTA is a Department of State (DoS) program, designed to train and equip African militaries to support United Nations and African Union Peacekeeping Operation missions.



The ACOTA program has the capacity to train 20 battalions per year. Since the late 1990s, ACOTA and its predecessor programs have trained more than 160,000 African personnel who have supported peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Darfur, Somalia, and Lebanon.



For example, in May 2009 U.S. Africa Command representatives attended an ACOTA ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during which U.S. and British forces donated $9 million in equipment to Tanzania in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

"Having U.S. Africa Command working with OSC has brought U.S. military closer to us," said Patrick Nyaborogo, chief of the Office of Security Cooperation for Tanzania."It's beneficial to Tanzania to have regional programs, were we can share with our regional partners to come up with solutions to some of the problems we face on the continent."



During the seminar, attendees also received a brief overview of Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP). The CTFP is a Department of Defence (DoD) security cooperation tool designed to build partnerships in addressing extremism through non-lethal education and training. It pays for costs associated with foreign military officers and ministry of defence officials to attend military educational institutions, conferences, and seminars to combat terrorism at a strategic level. The projected DoD budget for Fiscal Year 2010 is $35 million.



The International Military Educational Training (IMET), program was another program highlighted during the seminar. IMET is a DoS funded program that funds attendance of foreign personnel to U.S. military education institutions, exposing students to the professional military establishment and the American way of life, including U.S. regard for democratic values and respect for individual and human rights.



Zui Colliee, the IMET and OSC Program Manager to Liberia, said, "After receiving training from this seminar, I should be able to give thoughtful insight to my colleagues in order to receive funding."



According to Colliee, both the CTFP/IMET programs are helping to provide Liberia a means to build a Coast Guard. "We currently have four persons in training, but we hope to have more than 20 people in training during Fiscal Year 2010," she said.



During the seminar, attendees received hands-on experience with the Training Management System from the Defence Institute of Security Assistance Management. The TMS is a Microsoft Access-based software that is designed to aid security assistance organisations in all facets of international training.