EU NAVFOR supports Somali / Ugandan maritime leadership training exercise course
EU NAVFOR says it recently supported a successful joint Somali / Ugandan maritime leadership training exercise course in the capital, Mogadishu. Delivered by British Peace Support Team (Africa), the week long course involved junior officers from both the Somali Police Force Maritime Police Unit and the Ugandan African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Marine Unit, and saw them put into practice on the sea the leadership lessons they had learned in the classroom.
The course demonstrated the integrated approach of the International Community to developing maritime security capability in the Somali capital. It was attended by junior officers of both Ugandan and Somali forces, delivered by a combination of BPST(A), the Police Commissioner from the UN’s Rule of Law and Security Institutions Group, and a Coast Guard mentor from the EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia. Further practical lessons with the EU NAVFOR Liaison Officer, Lieutenant Commander Alfonso Martinez Ferra ESPN.
Course organiser, Commander Sean Dempsey Royal Navy, said, “I have been very impressed by how well all course participants got involved throughout the week, and particularly on closely the two nations interacted. Coming at the start of the Ugandan’s year long tour of duty in Mogadishu, this will help them integrate quickly with their Somali counterparts to achieve the common mission of a secure maritime sector”
Closing the course and presenting certificates to participants, the British Ambassador His Excellency Ben Fender described the course as “A pioneering example of what Transition could start to look like”.
