2018

Sierra Leone’s Experience Offers Lessons on Building a Professional Armed Forces BY BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL MOHAMED SAMURA AND COL. STEVEN PARKER For African countries, improving the security outlook does not require better weapons…

Nations Across the Continent Are Seeing the Benefits of Educated, Well-Trained Noncommissioned Officers ADF STAFF Photos by STAFF SGT. GRADY JONES/U.S. AFRICA COMMAND Militaries are generally composed of an officer corps at the top…

A Cape Verdean Perspective on Africa Endeavor Capt. Domingos Tavares, Armed Forces of Cape Verde Digitalization has transformed life in Africa. Internet and mobile technologies are now with us wherever we go. We rely on this technology…

The Values of the Next Generation of African Security Sector Leaders By Dr. Kwesi Aning and Dr. Joseph Siegle The role of African security sector professionals has changed greatly in recent decades. Leaders today face a dizzying array…

ADF STAFF Just four years ago, Liberia’s West Point was reeling from the biggest Ebola outbreak in West Africa’s history. As the international community battled the ferocious virus, the Liberian military enforced a quarantine that put…

Reverence, Respect and Credibility Brig. Gen. Saleh Bala Discusses the Need for a Culture of Professionalism in Africa’s Militaries Retired Brig. Gen. Saleh Bala spent 29 years in the Nigerian Army. He is a former military chief of…

Africa’s greatest leaders found a variety of ways to govern, including delegating authority and leading by example. ADF STAFF In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela recalled how he met the president of Tanzania in March, 1990. “We…

Holdovers from History Hamper the Vast Nation’s Ability to Overcome Instability ADF STAFF The proliferation of armed groups in Africa’s second-largest country has destabilized the nation for decades, but an incident in December 2017…

In asymmetric wars, more needs to be done to protect people caught in the middle ADF STAFF A small bus loaded with 24 people from Burkina Faso was crossing into Mali, en route to a weekly market in the town of Boni. Nine kilometers from…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Ivoirian Aristide Bancé is football’s version of Marco Polo. Since debuting for the Ivoirian club Stade d’Abidjan in 2000, the 33-year-old has played for 20 professional clubs, including time in Belgium,…