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Lt. Gen. John Brennan, U S. Africa Command Deputy Commander, traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Feb. 20-21 to meet with the Chief of Tanzanian People 's Defence Forces Gen. Jacob John Mkunda, and to be the keynote speaker at the closing ceremony for Exercise Cutlass Express.

“We see Tanzania as a key strategic partner in East Africa; an anchor of security and stability," Brennan said during his meeting with the chief of defence on Feb. 21. 

Brennan and Mkunda discussed past, ongoing, and future security cooperation activities and opportunities between the United States and Tanzania, with both highlighting the importance of the newly-signed agreement between Tanzania and the Nebraska National Guard as part of the U.S. State Partnership Program.  Under the SPP, Nebraska Guard members will travel to Tanzania to train together with Tanzanian forces, strengthening both organizations and reinforcing the U.S.-Tanzanian partnership, with reciprocal visits by TPDF to Nebraska to participate in their annual training.

Following the meeting, Brennan attended the U.S. Sixth Fleet- and TPDF-hosted closing ceremony for Exercise Cutlass Express 2025, concluding the exercise’s 15th iteration since 2011.

Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Michael Mhona, Chief of operations and training for the Tanzanian people's defence forces, spoke about the importance of training together with regional partners. 

“Cutlass Express 2025 has been an outstanding demonstration of the power of cooperation, mutual respect, and commitment to the power of regional security," Mhona said.

The exercise took place from Feb. 10-21 and hosted over 1000 participants from 20 partner nations as part of a global network of partners that enhance cooperation and expertise in maritime security operations in the Western Indian Ocean.

Brennan echoed the importance of security cooperation and thanked TPDF organizers for hosting the exercise and being a strong partner to the United States.

“We greatly appreciate Tanzania hosting both Cutlas Express and Justified Accord simultaneously, which demonstrates not only their exceptional hospitality, but the TPDF’s capability as well," Brennan said during his remarks. “This is an enduring partnership we want to continue to foster and grow to connect allies and partners from five continents for a common purpose."

Cutlass Express focuses on enabling East African partners to expand their capacity and capability to support maritime security operations and combat threats such as counterterrorism, piracy, trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This supports U.S. defense of the homeland by addressing those threats before they affect the U.S. or other nations across the globe.  The coordination of 10 national maritime operations centers across eight partner nations sought to improve regional coordination, with this year being the first to feature a U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft to establish communication links during a Cutlass Express. Visit, board, search and seizure training in both Tanzania and Mauritius, as well as a week-long rule of law course hosted in Seychelles, allowed partners to share and refine their tactics for interdiction operations while ensuring a legal finish to hold malign actors accountable for illicit at-sea activity.

Participants spanned five continents and included Australia, Belgium, Comoros, Djibouti, France, Georgia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom.

Cutlass Express is one of three regional maritime exercises led by U.S. Sixth Fleet as part of a comprehensive strategy to provide collaborative opportunities to African forces and international partners to address maritime security concerns.