ADF

ADF STAFF Twenty years ago, few had heard of cyber warfare. Religious extremism was not considered a threat to most countries. And piracy was thought to have been eradicated a century earlier.  Things can change quickly.  As land forces chiefs from across Africa gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2020, they were looking to the future. The four-day African Land Forces Summit (ALFS) sponsored by U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) and co-hosted by the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) was an opportunity to look over the horizon and begin to prepare for the threats that will be most prevalent years…

When South Korea faced a communist incursion from the North in 1950, it asked the world for help. One country in Africa answered the call: Ethiopia.  Emperor Haile Selassie formed a battalion from his Imperial Bodyguard and deployed it to fight under the United Nations flag.  By the time the conflict was over, Ethiopia’s Kagnew Battalion had won the respect of allies and enemies. The Soldiers’ heroism during an outnumbered battle on “Pork Chop Hill” has become the stuff of legends. In fact, Ethiopia was said to be the only contingent that never lost a prisoner or left a dead…

ADF STAFF When Sierra Leonean fishermen board their small wooden boats and head out into the open sea to make a living, sometimes they can see their enemy. Along the ocean horizon float larger fishing vessels and trawlers — virtually all of them foreign and most Chinese — waiting to scoop up their catch using an array of illegal and destructive methods. Up to 70 trawlers work in Sierra Leonean waters around the clock, according to a BBC report. Sometimes the rust-stained trawlers drop heavy, metal doors that sink and help drag nets across the ocean floor, scraping away priceless…

MAJ. GEN. (RET.) MUHAMMAD INUWA IDRIS ilitary officers have all benefited from professional military education (PME) throughout their careers. PME is structured to include a mix of training, skills acquisition and traditional classroom instruction. It is designed to support a Soldier from the beginning of his or her career up to the time he or she exits active duty. It shapes attitudes toward enhanced achievements of individual and institutional missions. It is graduated into levels and compartmentalized between the enlisted and officer cadres.  Soldiers who have studied at the most prestigious PME institutions carry that pride of accomplishment with them…

When it comes to building military capacity in Africa, adding aircraft tends to take a back seat because of the expense involved to acquire combat craft, trainers and cargo planes. Military applications aside, airlift capacity remains a critical need throughout the continent, as much for moving troops to troubled regions as dropping supplies to areas hit by natural disasters. To address this need, the African Union (AU) has established a cell within its Peace Support Operation Division called the Continental Movement Coordination Center. The center oversees airlift contributed by the continent’s regional economic communities, as well as short-term contract airlift,…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Liberian President George Weah has released a coronavirus-themed single, using music to raise awareness about prevention measures in the West African state.  In his Let’s Stand Together and Fight Coronavirus, Weah explains how the virus is spread and urges hand-washing to a backing of harmonized female vocals and upbeat guitar music from the group, the Rabbis. “From Europe to America, from America to Africa, take precautions, and be safe,” the former football icon sings. The roughly six-minute track also describes symptoms and explains how COVID-19 can spread when people touch their nose or eyes. As with other states…

VOICE OF AMERICA Nairobi’s Kariobangi neighborhood became home to a football team in 2000. Later named the Kariobangi Sharks, the team was a bright spot in an informal settlement marked by poverty, crime and crowded living conditions. The team became an escape for talented young people with an interest in football, some who might otherwise be involved in crime. In the past two decades, the team has risen to the top of Kenya’s football league, nurturing talent and giving hope to a new generation of players.  When Eric Juma was 11 years old, he saw the team training near his…

REUTERS South Sudanese wrestler Kur Bol Jok strode into the arena, puffed out his chest and faced his opponent, bracing for the fight. Wrestling is popular in the world’s youngest nation, which has been devastated by five years of civil war. Athletes say it is one of the few outlets in which ethnic groups who have fought each other can engage in friendly competition. “Wrestling brings peace as different people come from different places to meet and create friendship,” Jok said before the match. “Winning brings joy, and losing is normal because it is not a real fight.” Matches draw…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS In a field in central Goma, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 36,000 people got the chance to forget fears about insecurity and enjoy some top music acts at the Amani Festival. The festival, named after the Swahili word for peace, is a rare time for such large numbers to come together in one place in this region. Goma is the biggest city in an area that has seen an upsurge of violence. Attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group and army attempts to flush them out have led to…

ADF STAFF United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19, which he called the common enemy that is threatening all of humanity. “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” he said. “It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” Guterres pointed out that marginalized people suffer the most during war and are most at risk from the disease. These include refugees, women, children and people with disabilities. He said health…