Story by JFC Naples J-7
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Allied Joint Force Command Naples trained on exercise planning at the Collège des Hautes Études de Stratégie et de Défense in Kinshasa from April 29 to May 3.
The workshop involved thirty-nine military (including 9 OF-6-7 general officers and 16 OF-5), police and civilian from various states member of Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
JFC Naples – J7 Training and Exercise Branch Provided three officers and two representatives from the NATO Military Liaison Office (NMLO) to the African Union (AU) assisted.
This event represented the first training event organized by NATO in this region of Africa.
Brigadier General Savihemba, ECCAS representative, said it was "the Act One between ECCAS and NATO.”
The focus of this MTT was to explain the logical sequence that comprises NATO’s planning process for an exercise.
The event covered topics such as concept and specification development, analysis and reporting and product development.
Open discussions were conducted throughout the session.
"The seminar reached its projected objectives,” said French Army Lieutenant Colonel Christophe Le Cerf.
Le Cerf thanked the ECCAS for the confidence placed in NATO by sending such a high level audience to the course.
During the closing ceremony, Major General Gabriel Amisi Kumba, DR Congo's Deputy Chief of Defence for Operations and Intelligence, expressed his gratitude to JFC Naples for its committed assistance to the ECCAS, AU, and African countries and to MTT members for the comprehensive course.
It has been also outlined that AU will implement soon a common training and education directive for benefiting all members of standardized exercise planning and execution solutions.
The event continued to build on NATO’s cooperation and partnership in this African region.
DR Congo is one of eleven countries participating in ECCAS which is an Economic Community of the AU for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa.
NATO has developed cooperation with the African Union principally in three areas: operational support; capacity-building support; and assistance in developing and sustaining the African Standby Force (ASF).
Operational support includes strategic air- and sealift, as well as planning support for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Capacity-building support is one of the three pillars on which NATO has developed cooperation with the AU.
This includes delivering courses through NATO’s MTTs and inviting AU officers to attend courses at NATO training and education facilities.
The NMLO to the African Union was established in 2005, in Addis Ababa, under the scope of NATO’s Support to the African Union.
The purpose of the office is to provide support to the AU, as requested by the African Union Commission, in particular to the development of the AU’s peace support capacity and the ongoing operationalization of the African Standby Forces.