Africa Defense Forum
ADF is a professional military magazine published quarterly by U.S. Africa Command to provide an international forum for African security professionals. ADF covers topics such as counter terrorism strategies, security and defense operations, transnational crime, and all other issues affecting peace, stability, and good governance on the African continent.

Linked by Lifelines

Mobile phones and websites offer affordable options to keep information flowing before and after disaster ADF STAFF Catastrophe struck Kenya in late 2007 and early 2008. But the disaster wasn’t a flood, famine or earthquake. Protests in…

Centers are Critical in Crisis Response

Uganda’s National Emergency Coordination and Operations Centre Offers a Model ADF STAFF In July 2013, three earthquakes shook Uganda’s Lake Albert region. The tremors caused minimal damage but reminded the country’s disaster response…

A Conversation with the Exercise Commander

Brig. Gen. Lawrence Smith is the general officer commanding the 43rd South African Brigade of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in the…

Steel Sharpens Steel

Joint Training at Shared Accord 13 Strengthens Two Infantries Before daybreak, a convoy of vehicles bumped down a dirt track pocked with deep ruts and termite mounds in the South African veld. The convoy included U.S. Humvees and South…

Medicine for the Masses

A Humanitarian Event Offers Free Medical Care to Civilians and Training for Soldiers From a distance, the crowd ringing the cricket stadium near Bhisho, South Africa, looked like fans queuing up for a big match. The festive atmosphere was…

Freedom Peeks Out of Darkness in Mali

ADF STAFF After more than a year of violence and instability, Malians walked to the polls and cast a vote for a more peaceful future. The vote in late July 2013 occurred without incident under the cover of heavy security. It was the…

A Dose of Prevention

South Africa, a Leader in Disaster Response, Works to Improve In January 2013, weeks of heavy rain caused the Limpopo River in Mozambique to swell and spill over its banks, flooding surrounding farmland and villages. About 185,000 people…

Disaster by the Numbers

Africa from 1980 to 2008  ADF STAFF Africa is home to a wide range of natural disasters. Floods come along with the rainy seasons in Mozambique, Madagascar and Ghana. Famines and droughts are common in East Africa, especially Somalia…

Ghana’s Face of Disaster Response

Kofi Portuphy Talks to ADF About His Nation’s Accomplishments and Challenges in Emergency Management Story by ADF STAFF, photo by SENIOR MASTER SGT. DAVID H. LIPP/NORTH DAKOTA AIR NATIONAL GUARD Kofi Portuphy is national coordinator of…

In the Time of Need

Kenya’s Military Embraces the Role of Disaster Responders BERENIKA STEFANSKA The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) received global attention during the devastating terror attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that left more than 60…