A U.S. Army soldier protects a C130J Super Hercules while others load a vehicle into a C-130J during an operation under Joint Task Force-Quartz in support of Operation Octave Quartz (OOQ) in Somalia Dec. 18, 2020. The OOQ mission is to reposition U.S. Department of Defense personnel from Somalia to other locations in East Africa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
A U.S. Service member protects a C130J Super Hercules while its being loaded under Joint Task Force-Quartz in support of Operation Octave Quartz (OOQ) in Somalia Dec. 23, 2020. The mission of OOQ is to relocate U.S. DOD forces in Somalia to other East Africa operating locations while maintaining pressure on violent extremists and supporting partner forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
Joint Task Force Quartz repositions U.S. forces in East Africa
8:24 AM2/3/2021
Joint Task Force-Quartz successfully repositioned U.S. forces and equipment within East Africa prior to the Jan. 15 target date while maintaining support to partners and continuing to strike al Shabaab.
Abraham Kipligat in the Horn of Africa, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Sept. 9, 2020. Kipligat, a Iowa National Guard Soldier and Red Bull, is currently serving an a infantryman with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment. (Minnesota National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Sirrina Martinez)
Julius Kiplagat, Abrahams father, in his police uniform when he worked for the Municipal Council of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya, circa 1998. Julius worked for the council from 1998-2009 before moving his family to the United States. (Photo courtesy of Abraham Kiplagat)
Julius Kiplagat, Abrahams father, in his police uniform when he worked for the Municipal Council of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya, circa 1998. Julius worked for the council from 1998-2009 before moving his family to the United States. (Photo courtesy of Abraham Kiplagat)
Abraham Kipligat (center) with his father Julius and sister Mercy after Kiplagat’s graduation from One Station Unit Training, Fort Benning, Georgia, Jan. 10, 2018. Kipligat joined the Iowa National Guard in 2017 as an infantryman. (Photo courtesy of Spc. Abraham Kipligat)
Kenyan-born Red Bull Soldier reflects on deployment journey to the Horn of Africa
7:12 AM2/3/2021
Spc. Abraham Kiplagat, a infantryman with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, immigrated to the United States at the age of 10-years-old. Kipligat has now returned to the region of his birth during his deployment to the Horn of Africa.
U.S. Army Soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) board a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army Soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) board a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
A U.S. Army soldier from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) stands guard at a guard post with an Ugandan soldier Jan. 20, 2021 in Somalia. The EARF is a rapid deployment force with the ability to protect U.S. citizens and diplomatic facilities, provide non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations, on the African continent. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army Soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) board a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) walk towards a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 21, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF is a rapid deployment force with the ability to protect U.S. citizens and diplomatic facilities, provide non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations, on the African continent. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) prepare to board a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 21, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
A U.S. Army Soldier from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) exit a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army Soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) walk off a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
A U.S. Army soldier from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) creates a range card from a lookout point Jan. 21, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army Soldiers from the East African Response Force (EARF) assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) exit a C-130J Super Hercules Jan. 20, 2021, in Somalia. The EARF exercise demonstrates the ability to respond across a wide range of military operations, including crisis response, protection of U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities, disaster relief, personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and other missions as directed by U.S. Africa Command as well as a continued commitment to U.S. partners in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Charles T. Fultz)
U.S. Army Soldiers from Task Force Bayonet, assigned to the East Africa Response Force (EARF) in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), alongside Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based out of Vicenza, Italy, traveled to Somalia as part of a security exercise to Mogadishu International Airport (MIA), Jan. 20-21.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lapthe Flora, commanding general, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), and members of the CJTF-HOA staff virtually attend the 2021 African Chiefs of Defense Conference hosted by U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, Jan. 27, 2021. The purpose of the conference was to discuss key security challenges and opportunities and to work together to improve security, stability, and prosperity in Africa.