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 Combined
Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal
Exercise prepares forces to help “Africans solve
African problems”
U.S.
Joint Forces Command continued its Combined Joint Task
Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise this
week
at the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk, Va. using realistic
scenarios to train personnel to conduct joint operations
within the Horn of Africa.
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By
Robert Pursell
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK,
Va. – Jan.
14, 2008) -- U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) continued
its annual Combined
Joint Task Force -
Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX)
here today at the Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC).
The
MRX, also supported by U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM),
will
train personnel to conduct joint operations within the
Horn of Africa using realistic scenarios. Most of the scenarios
are taken from real life situations and are recommended
by personnel already stationed in the region.
USJFCOM's
Director of Joint Training Army Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya
said there are three pillars of the operation and
environment
in the Horn of Africa which the MRX is based on.
"The
three pillars of the operation and the environment
in Africa are defense, diplomacy and development,"
he said. "I
think if I was to characterize the major emphasis of
focus throughout the training regiment, it’s
been to familiarize the CJTF with what each of these
three communities can do and
it’s interrelationship with each. So I believe
that the CJTF is right there at the nexus with these
three elements
of national power."
The
mission of the CJTF-HOA is to prevent conflict, promote
regional stability and protect coalition
interests in
east Africa and Yemen through humanitarian assistance,
disaster
relief, consequence management, and civic action
programs.
Navy
Rear Adm. Phil Greene, the CJTF-HOA commander, explained
the CJTF focus.
"The
focus is developing partnerships and forging relationships
with our African friends," he
said. "We’re
there because they want us there and we’re
in the business of helping them solve African
challenges. In the end it’s
about Africans solving African problems and how
we contribute to their efforts and capacity and
capability to do that."
Greene
explained how this exercise can help to achieve that
focus.
"As
we go through this exercise, there are processes that
we use. We have business rules that we want to re-enforce.
It’s the planning processes that are associated with
how we’re going to deliver our product line which
is the engagement, the cooperation, the civil affairs,
and the military to military training piece. All of that
is focused to some kind of an output. Individually, the
events that we engage with the Africans on are focused
on partnership development and forging relationships."
Over
250 participants including Standing Navy Joint Command
Element (SNJCE) Command Staff and individual augmentees,
subject matter experts from USCENTCOM and several interagency
organizations, are on hand for in the event. Multinational
participation includes representation from Djibouti,
Republic of Mauritius, United Kingdom and France.
Kamiya
said USJFCOM directed the MRX. The command issued academics
to prepare participants with information on
the Horn of Africa about U.S. Embassy operations, the
culture,
and ethnic diversity, as well as staff-functional training
on operations. In May, USJFCOM will look at the CJTF
for follow-on assistance and gather any lessons learned.
Greene
said the key to CJTF – HOA’s success
so far in the MRX, has been the efforts of USJFCOM’s
training expertise and experience in preparing joint
task force staffs around the military.
"We’ve
benefited greatly from these observer-trainers
and the experience they bring to the game," he
said.
Once
the MRX wraps up, senior leadership will conduct an after
action review to summarize everything
the happened over the course of the exercise.
Greene said the hope
is
that efforts of the exercise will help to increase
security, improve stability and enable sovereignty
in the HOA.
"By
doing that we’ll make them
contributors to the security environment and
we’ll hopefully
assist and facilitate their own economic and
social development that
helps to improve the lives of the people that
are there."
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