ADF

Piracy Remains a Problem, but African Nations Are Working Together ADF Staff With more than 30,000 kilometers of coastline, the fortunes of the African continent are inextricably bound to safety and security at sea. From Senegal to Angola, nations are working to deter pirates and thieves who ply the waters of the Gulf of Guinea for oil, fish and ransoms. In the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean — all the way down to the Mozambique Channel — nations and international forces combat Somali pirates, who have staged something of a resurgence recently. Seventy percent of Africa’s nations —…

Foreign Trawlers are Depleting Africa’s Fish Stocks, but Nations Have the Tools to Fight Back ADF STAFF For the Oleg Naydenov, a Russian trawler, the blue waters off the coast of West Africa once were an all-you-can-eat buffet. The rusted 120-meter vessel and its 82-person crew could haul in and process 18,000 metric tons of fish each year. They paid little attention to the laws in the waters where they sailed, operating without permits. That changed in 2012 when Senegal strengthened its laws, increased enforcement and raised the maximum penalty for ships caught fishing illegally. In late 2013, French forces…

Rear Adm. Peter Kofi Faidoo of Ghana  Sees Collaboration, Technology and Training as Keys to a Safer Gulf of Guinea Rear Adm. Faidoo is Ghana’s chief of naval staff. Before his appointment in 2016, he held a number of posts, including director of Naval Operations and National Maritime Security coordinator. In 2012, he was appointed director general of training at the General Headquarters, and, in 2015, he became flag officer commanding the Western Naval Command. In 1998, as commanding officer of the GNS Sebo, he took part in the Naval Task Force of the Economic Community of West African States…

ADF STAFF Photos by reuters When the Ebola virus emerged in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2013-2014, West Africa — and the world — was caught unprepared. More than 11,300 people died in the outbreak, which spread into urban areas and popped up in other nations, including Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Even as the crisis ended in the spring of 2016, it was clear that Africa had not seen the last of Ebola. Nations across the continent would have to be ready for its eventual re-emergence. Steps were taken for the next outbreak, including the formation in January 2017 of…

Africa’s Smallest Nation Is Setting a Standard for Safe, Sustainable Seas ADF STAFF As the six Seychellois crew members of the fishing boat Galate slept at sea southeast of Mahé Island, they should have had little more to fear than awakening to another busy day of hauling in tuna from the Indian Ocean. Armed bandits, however, were stalking the waters. International naval patrols had pushed pirates hundreds of miles from the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden. Now some of those pirates had their sights on the fishermen. About 2 a.m. on March 30, 2010, nine Somali pirates, recently in possession…

Complex Laws and Limited Resources Make it Hard to Bring Criminals to Justice ADF STAFF The guilty verdict handed down in a São Tomé and Príncipe courtroom echoed across the globe.  A Chilean captain and two Spanish crew members of the notorious fishing vessel the Thunder were sentenced to two to three years in prison and fined a total of $15 million. For the tiny Gulf of Guinea island that relies heavily on the sea economy, it felt like a rare win in a losing battle against illegal fishing. “This isn’t just a victory for our country,” said Frederique Samba…

Air Force Contributes to Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia ADF STAFF The residents of Bishoftu, Ethiopia, a lakeside town 25 kilometers south of the capital city, are accustomed to the rumble of jets taking off and landing at the Ethiopian Air Force’s (ETAF) Central Air Base. In June 2018, they heard the roar of a refurbished, C-130E Hercules cargo aircraft donated by the United States government. The intent of this donation was to further develop the ETAF’s capacity to resupply peacekeeping forces in the region and to respond to humanitarian crises. The delivery of the aircraft also was celebrated by honoring John…

ADF STAFF The U.S. Navy once analyzed data and concluded that, in theory, a C-130 Hercules transport plane could carry 25,000 pounds of freight, fly for 4,000 kilometers and eventually land on an aircraft carrier. On October 30, 1963, that theory was put to the test. A C-130 made a successful landing on an American aircraft carrier. Its 40-meter wingspan cleared the control tower by just 4 meters.  Fifty-five years later, it retains the record for the largest, heaviest plane ever to land on a carrier. It was hardly the most grueling test for a C-130. As reported by The…

MAJ. RYAN McCAUGHAN  In 1910, in the American town of Gulfport, Mississippi, a young boy named John Robinson witnessed a seaplane landing in a bay near his home. As the boy saw the pilot perform an array of aerial acrobatics for the onlookers, he felt the course of his life alter. Robinson made it his mission to learn to fly. His mother explained that this was not a common goal for an African-American boy in the early 20th century. That only made him more resolved. Robinson demonstrated tremendous acumen for machines and eventually earned a place at the prestigious Tuskegee…

The country’s military wants to play a larger role in maintaining security in East Africa ADF STAFF When military forces from Africa, Europe and the United States conducted the seventh Cutlass Express maritime exercise in 2018, they were joined by the Somali Maritime Police — the first time in nearly 30 years that Somalia had participated in any security exercise outside its own borders. Participation in a military training exercise is a significant step for Somalia. The country has yet to fully defeat al-Shabaab extremists, and it relies on 22,000 African Union Mission in Somalia peacekeepers from six other African…