Getting Ready: EASF prepares as AU Standby Force

The Eastern Africa Standby Force being one of the five regional standby forces on the continent will be on standby from July to December 2019 as AU standby force. In preparation for this important

assignment, EASF is enhancing its capacity and strengthening its position as a regional standby force. Mission Planning and Management section (MP&MS) is one of the training session being held ahead of EASF taking up the ‘AU standby Force’ position on the AU roster.

The 5-day training course is aimed at rehearsing the Mission Planning & Management Section (MP&MS) on their operational role once EASF is to conduct a deployment and also in preparation of the Force HQ Exercise to be conducted next month. This is the second time that the MP & MS training course is being held. In March this year, a similar training course was organized for the leadership at EASF.
 
The training course which is being financed by EASF member states was officially opened on Monday 13th May, 2019 at the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) in Karen Nairobi. In his opening remarks, the Director of EASF, Dr. Abdillahi Omar Bouh highlighted the importance of this practical training course.
 
Right after the opening ceremony, the practical training course started with the Director giving the strategic guidance and launching the mission planning for a potential deployment in the Republic of Carana. Carana is a fictitious country commonly used for training purposes. The participants were told that the situation in Carana is a serious one, and one that poses a potential risk to regional peace and stability. In his strategic guidance the Director stated ‘’…… significant increases in trans-border organized crime in a state with poor and unpopular governance, has meant that weapons, drugs and violence has become widespread in Leppko province. The nature of the situation is not a regular nor ideal one for EASF, and it requires assets and planning that we do not have right now. But, as it stands, we are the best suited and most willing organisation to act, and must prepare ourselves to contribute what we can. Our task now is to identify what aspects of the crisis our member states may be equipped to handle, and the scope of external support that may be needed - perhaps with EASF as the framework provider..’’

Following that the planning cell at the EASF secretariat was activated. One of the important elements of this training is the practical aspect which will give the participants a sense of ‘real’ and practical experience of planning for an eventual deployment through the AU approved scenarios of fictitious Carana state. More than 50 participants from the EASF Secretariat, Logistics Base and Member States are attending this training course in collaboration with the EASF technical advisors team.

Photo Gallery: Getting Ready - EASF prepares as AU Standby Force