More than 75% of people in Africa rely on agriculture for their livelihood. Most of this is made up of livestock such as chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, camels and donkeys. Without proper medical care, many of these animals will suffer from treatable diseases. The same can be said for domestic animals such as dogs and cats. For military veterinarians in Africa, part of their mission is to assist the local populace with the health of their animals and protect the public health from diseases that can be transmitted to humans. U.S. Army Maj. Sage Umphries, a veterinarian assigned to the 353rd Civil Affairs Functional Specialty Team, stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, recently participated in Exercise Shared Accord 2022, a joint and bilateral training exercise that took place in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province July 11-27, 2022.

Members of Alpha company 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion collaborated with the 353rd Civil Affairs Functional Specialty Team, and other volunteers, to conduct a Herd Health Veterinarian Engagement in the village of Chabelley, August 3-4, 2022.

CAMP SIMBA, Kenya – U.S. service members from the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Air Force, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), participated in a joint-force combined arms marksmanship competition July 20-25, 2022, at Camp Simba, Kenya. The event hosted 52 participants with individual and team competitions using multiple weapon systems. The matches simulated combat scenarios with competitors engaging targets from multiple distances and positions, with target transitioning, weapon manipulation, while combining all of those skills under the stress of time and accuracy.