ADF

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS As a student, Leah Wangari imagined a glamorous life as a globe-trotting flight attendant, not toiling in dirt and manure. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya’s skyscraper-filled capital, the 28-year-old said farming was the last thing on her mind. The decision to drop agriculture classes haunted her later, when her efforts in agribusiness investing while running a fashion venture failed. She made her way to an unusual new reality TV show, the first of its kind in Africa. Don’t Lose the Plot trains contestants from Kenya and neighboring Tanzania and gives them plots to cultivate, with a…

REUTERS Standing by a towering equatorial forest, Jean-Noel Kouame’s new breeze-block house may be beyond the reach of Côte d’Ivoire’s power grid, but it’s perfectly located for solar power. Buoyed by success in East Africa, off-grid solar power startups are pouring into West Africa, offering pay-as-you-go kits in a race to claim tens of millions of customers who lack reliable access to electricity. The main challenge facing smaller companies now is how to raise enough money to supply the expensive solar kits in return for small upfront payments from customers. In Abidjan, Kouame doesn’t know when, or if, the national…

SEYCHELLES NEWS AGENCY An environmental performance index has ranked the Seychelles first out of 180 countries in the climate and energy category, lauding its use of renewable energy. The Environmental Performance Index 2018 ranks countries in 24 categories, including air pollution, sanitation, climate and energy, fisheries, and agriculture. In the climate and energy category, the island nation has made an “impressive leap in the global rankings from its 179th baseline position to first place,” said the report. Principal Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Wills Agricole said the ranking is due to the efforts the Seychelles is making in the…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Angola is working to diversify its oil-dependent economy. One natural and readily available resource is fish, but a lack of equipment and know-how has meant the industry has struggled. President Joao Lourenco took office in September 2017 promising to deliver an “economic miracle” that would transform the Southern African nation, where the United Nations says more than half of the population lives on less than $2 a day. The collapse in 2014 of the price of crude oil, which provides 70 percent of all revenues and nearly all hard currency, put immense pressure on the country to diversify.…

ADF STAFF Bai Bureh once earned the nickname Kebalai, which means “one who never tires of war.” In 1898, he took on one of the most highly trained, disciplined armies in the world. Armed with little more than his stealth, cunning and audacity, he was able to fight to a stalemate for almost a year. Today, he is known as one of Sierra Leone’s greatest heroes. Bureh was born in 1840 in a village in northern Sierra Leone. As a young man, his father sent him away to train to become a warrior. He became a relentless Soldier — so…

CLUES This was the residence of emperors in the 16th and 17th centuries. The city is surrounded by a wall that is 900 meters long. The complex contains palaces, churches, monasteries, and other buildings marked by Hindu and Arab influences. The city was the center of the nation’s government until 1864. ANSWER  The fortress city of Fasil Ghebbi in Gondar, Ethiopia

ADF STAFF After three years of internal conflict in the Central African Republic, the African Union in late 2013 deployed the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA). Its mandate was to “help protect civilians, stabilize the country, and restore state authority over the territory, as well as create conditions conducive to the provision of humanitarian assistance.” Researchers Mor Djandame Mbow and Issaka Souaré say that MISCA applied “a very high standard to its own personnel, including military personnel, in their dealings with civilians.” That included investigating its own personnel after the forced disappearance of some civilians.…

ADF STAFF The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) added a new dimension to the education and training of noncommissioned officers (NCOs) after realizing that there was a gap in leadership development and professional military education between senior NCOs and commissioned officers. With help from the United States, the MDF established its Sergeant Major Academy in 2014 under the auspices of the Malawi Armed Forces College (MAFCO) in Salima, said Brig. Gen. Swithun Mchungula, commandant at the college. “The NCO academy was necessary because it prepares and improves the NCO leadership roles in joint operations, multinational operations as well as the ability…

U.S. Africa Command Staff Long deployments, physical strain and extreme risk. These are the hazards that military professionals know well. They shoulder these burdens gladly because, for them, the work is more than just a career. It’s a calling. When asked why they joined, Soldiers often cite ideals such as “service to country” and a “desire to protect others.” They also strive for an ideal of professionalism. Being a professional means a lifelong dedication to learning and the perfection of one’s craft. To support this development, countries are investing in professional military education institutions, particularly command and staff colleges designed…

It is important that our new graduates remain conscious of their responsibilities toward the people of the nation whose security you will be charged to protect. As you enjoy the euphoria that surrounds your achievements on this memorable occasion, do not forget that a responsibility has been thrust on your shoulders. Your commission into the Armed Forces is the beginning of your careers as professional officers and leaders. And you are expected to exhibit exemplary conduct. You must at all times discharge your duties professionally and diligently.  You are to safeguard and protect the territorial integrity of the nation and…