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African Alumni Symposium 2020 group photo
Thirty-seven African alumni of U.S. Army professional military education programs, 20 African fellows currently enrolled at the U.S. Army War College and nine Army National Guard representatives from the Defense Department’s State Partnership Program participated in the U.S. Army Africa-conducted, USAWC-hosted African Alumni Symposium held at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Penn., March 9-12. The symposium brings participants together to build and strengthen partnerships, facilitate discussion about shared security concerns and encourage regional cooperation in addressing challenges. (U.S. Army photo by Amanda Zeiders)
VICENZA, Italy – Thirty-seven senior officers from 19 African partner nation militaries recently returned to the United States to attend the 2020 African Alumni Symposium at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, March 9-12.
Participants in the U.S. Army Africa-conducted and U.S. Army War College-hosted event included African alumni of U.S. Army professional military education programs at the USAWC in Carlisle and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas. Twenty African fellows currently enrolled at the USAWC and nine Army National Guard representatives from the Defense Department’s State Partnership Program were also in attendance.
This year’s event was the largest AAS to date, with approximately 66 participants representing 27 African nations and nine of the continent’s 13 SPP partnerships.
The symposium, a U.S. Africa Command initiative, brings participants together to strengthen existing partnerships as well as build new relationships among African senior military leaders and the U.S. Army and facilitate discussion about shared security concerns, as well as encourage regional cooperation in addressing challenges.
The event also offers participants an opportunity to reexamine current models of leadership decision making, and to discuss ways to improve those processes not just for current leaders, but also for decision makers of the future, said Maj. Gen. John S. Kem, the USAWC commandant.
“How can we do this in a better way? Because that’s the challenge that we all face,” he said. “We all have hard problems; we all have questions. We’ve all got ways we can do things differently or better. How do you generate an idea and get it to impact? That’s really what we are here to talk about.”
During his opening ceremony remarks, Col. Ed Williams, the USARAF security cooperation directorate director, expressed that this event is a priority for the command because global security depends upon security on the African continent, which requires long-term partnerships of trust and common purpose between military leaders.
“Global security is impossible without a secure, stable and prosperous Africa, and we’ll achieve that by working together through a network of partnerships,” he said. “No one nation can do this alone.”
The event’s overarching theme was “Security Tomorrow Demands Leadership Today.” Participants met in plenary sessions and breakout groups to discuss defense leadership-related topics, including 21st century challenges for military leaders, developing leaders through defense institutions, and defense leadership in a multinational environment. The event also included a staff ride to American Civil War battle site Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland.
Williams encouraged the participants to be candid in their discussions to promote understanding and continued regional cooperation and coordination and secure a stable and prosperous Africa.
“The world is complex and dynamic and African militaries face some of the most diverse security challenges in the world: insurgencies, armed conflicts, illicit trafficking, piracy, organized crime and violent extremist organizations,” he said. “As you know, these threats have no boundaries – crossing borders, destabilizing regions, and often requiring coordinated multinational responses. The military is of course not the solution in Africa, but is certainly part of the solution.”
