ADF

Wages War on Pests in South African Vineyard REUTERS At 9:45 a.m. each day, more than 1,000 Indian Runner ducks are released for the first of two sorties at Vergenoegd vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Their mission: Seek and eat thousands of tiny white dune snails feasting on budding vines. “Before we had the ducks, we had to put down snail bait, a pesticide. But for the past nine years I have been here we’ve used very little snail bait — almost nothing — because the ducks eat all the snails and other insects,” said vintner and horticulturalist Marlize Jacobs.…

Cameroon evolves to thwart Boko Haram’s changing tactics ADF STAFF Photos by The Cameroonian Armed Forces On the afternoon of October 15, 2014, Boko Haram launched an audacious attack. About 1,000 fighters crossed the barren border that separates Cameroon and Nigeria and surrounded the town of Amchidé. Young foot soldiers armed with AK-47s and known as crieurs for their fanatical shrieks made up the first wave. Next, older fighters rushed in on pickup trucks mounted with machine guns. Last came three tanks crushing everything in their path. The insurgents overran a police station and a gendarmerie post and took control…

Brig. Gen. Daniel Ziankahn says the Armed Forces of Liberia emerged from the country’s Ebola crisis stronger and ready to lead Brig. Gen. Daniel Ziankahn is the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). Appointed to the top post in 2014, he is the first Liberian to lead the military since the end of the nation’s civil war in 2003. Before his current position, he served as a platoon leader and as the military assistant to the Minister of Defense, the AFL-deputy assistant chief of staff for operations, and executive officer and later commander of the 23rd…

The country’s military played a key role in stopping the epidemic and organizing the country’s resources BRIG. GEN. DANIEL ZIANKAHN CHIEF OF STAFF/ARMED FORCES OF LIBERIA MAJ. SCOTT POLASEK SECURITY COOPERATION DIRECTORATE/WEST DESK OFFICER/U.S. ARMY Liberia still feels the pain from the loss of more than 4,000 of its citizens to the Ebola epidemic. The 2014 outbreak devastated communities and forever changed the country. The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) played a key support role in the eventual containment of the epidemic. The AFL learned many lessons that can inform future military responses, not only for Ebola outbreaks, but for…

Sex and Gender-Based Violence Can Hamper Missions and Tarnish Militaries ADF STAFF Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) have been major problems in peacekeeping missions for many years. Missions in Bosnia, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo and others have reported sexual assaults in the past 20 years. These accusations harm the credibility and effectiveness of these missions. Current unrest in the CAR has provided one of the most egregious examples of peacekeepers abusing civilians. According to the International Business Times, an internal United Nations report indicates that peacekeepers abused 10 to 12 boys ages 8…

Mali Emphasizes Human Rights, Protection of Women and Children in Combat Zones LT. COL. AMINATA DIABATÉ Lt. Col. Aminata Diabaté is chief of the International Human Rights Law Section in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense and Ex-Combatants of Mali. Her work focuses on gender-based violence. Beginning in 2012, Mali endured a crisis in the northern part of the country from which it is still trying to emerge. For the first time, many elements of the Armed Forces and security sector faced complex and difficult situations. These included issues such as human rights law, the…

ADF STAFF The Rif Mountains extend nearly 300 kilometers from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near Morocco’s Algerian frontier. Nestled within the range is a small city that was hidden for centuries, but now rates as one of the most beautiful places in the world. Chefchaouen’s streets wind to and fro amid a green and tan landscape, but the city of more than 35,000 is most notable for blue homes and buildings in its ancient section, known as the medina. The incongruous hue is said to have roots in the town’s former Jewish population, according to CompleteMorocco.com. The city…

Crisis Management Training Can Help Organize Responses and Save Lives ADF STAFF As the moist kusi monsoon winds blew into Nairobi from the southeast in late April 2016, they brought with them the torrential downpours of Kenya’s rainy season. Kusi winds typically usher in the “long rains,” which stretch from late April through early June. As rain fell for several days, flooding mixed with another of the Kenyan capital’s trouble spots: poorly constructed buildings. On April 29, a six-story apartment building near a river in the city’s poor Huruma neighborhood collapsed, bringing down tons of concrete on unsuspecting residents. Rescuers…

Security professionals need to be more proactive in dealing with reporters, particularly when the news is bad ADF STAFF The relationship between the military and the media is seldom easy, but in certain parts of Africa, the relationship seems particularly strained. Prof. Bizeck Phiri of the University of Zambia said African nations’ path to independence in the 20th century and their post-independence woes are partially to blame for some communications difficulties. “In the 1960s, when most African countries attained independence from their colonial masters, the public trusted the political leaders and those in authority,” he told military leaders at an…

The West African nation seeks to create a comprehensive counterterror strategy Maj. Didier Bamouni Terrorism and violent extremism surged in West Africa after the Malian crisis in 2012. Among Sahelian countries such as Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, Burkina Faso remained relatively safe from terrorism until recently, which may be attributed to its perceived role as a mediator in Mali. Maj. Didier Bamouni is a Burkina Faso Army officer. He has held command and training positions, including chief of operations of a counterterrorism task force. He has a postgraduate degree in defense and conflict studies and is pursuing a master’s degree…