In a collapsed building muffled cries can be faintly heard through a small hole in a concrete wall. Rescuers work frantically to cut through it and reach a trapped girl. Timing is everything, and the team has to work quickly and safely to get her out alive.
Training and preparation play a huge role in any rescue, and members of the 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion and 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron teamed up with 30 members of the Kenya Disaster Response Unit to share knowledge and
A team from Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa recently installed a new weather system at the Kenyan Military Airport in Nairobi.
The team included U.S. service members from, J3 Meteorological and Oceanographic Office, J3 Special Operations Command and Control Element Weather System and Support Cadre and the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion.
Before the new system was installed, the Kenyan Defense Forces relied on data from a civilian weather system which can be
Soldiers and Sailors from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, Maritime Civil Affairs Team 212 and several Kenyan organizations recently held Basic Sea Survival training for Kenyan security personnel in Mtwapa, Kenya.
The training strengthens security in Kenya, which has 18 prisons near its coast, rivers and lakes. Prisoners, including violent extremists, use the waterways to escape and many guards do not know how to swim, enabling the prison
Eight soldiers and airmen from Kenya Defense Forces partnered with two Airman from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs Office for a two-day, military-to military photojournalism workshop at the International Peace Support Training Center, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2013.
The hands-on workshop, which enhances KDF capacities in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), was the first of its kind between the two countries and shared best practices in photography sk
The eighth iteration of the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Course-Africa graduated 28 partner-nation intelligence officers, March 20. The course brought together officers from the countries of Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and South Sudan for an eight-week course in Nairobi, Kenya, that strengthens intelligence capabilities of East African militaries.
"For me to be able to conduct and advise accordingly, I need to understand how my counterparts work," said Ke
U.S. Navy Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six led a Humanitarian Mine Action Train the Trainer Program with Kenyan Army EOD Combat Engineers Jan. 15 to Feb. 5, 2013, at the Humanitarian Peace Support School, Nairobi, Kenya.
The purpose of the program is to strengthen Kenya's institutional capabilities by training future instructors so they can instruct other members from their respective units in the knowledge they learned.
"We have been having proble
A Kenyan catholic priest, Anglican priest, and Muslim imam walk into a chapel…
This is not the start of a joke, but the beginning of a new partnership between Kenyan and U.S. military chaplains when members from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's Office of Religious Affairs invited Kenyan army Lieutenant Col. Alfayo Lelei; Kenyan air force Lieutenant Col. Lucas Gatobu; and Kenyan army Maj. Mohamed Shukry here Feb. 11-18 to discuss ways to better serve U.S. and Kenyan servic
Projected on a white wall of the Kenyan schoolhouse was a live video feed of American high school students in their classroom. A Kenyan student walked to the camera and started to converse with a girl her age on a different continent.
Maritime Civil Affairs Team 112 facilitated video call sessions between schools in Malindi District, Kenya, and Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Va., June 7.
Using a commercial software application that allows users to make voice and vi
Members of Maritime Civil Affairs Team 112, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, celebrated World Environment Day with their east Africa partners in Kenya. MCAT 112 and other U.S. and African organizations planted nearly 600 Casuarina tree seedlings at Mjanaheri Primary School as part of the celebration June 5.
Multiple organizations, such as the African Medical and Research Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development-sponsored Aphia Plus and the Kenyan Forestry Ser
Caleb Otino, a local member of the Kenyan Red Cross, said that many of his friends have perished in the Kenyan coastal waters while fishing. His reason behind the loss of life: lack of water survival training. Otino said he wanted to change this.
Otino and other Local Kenyans are recent graduates of the Basic Sea Survival Train-the-Trainer Course, a program facilitated by U.S. Navy Maritime Civil Affairs Team 112, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, to help people better prepare
Kenyan Ministry of Defense senior enlisted personnel participated in a key leader engagement here March 26-29, hosted by Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Command Senior Enlisted Leader Chief Master Sergeant James E. Davis.
The four guests were Kenya Army Qualified Senior Master Instructor Josphat Muthama King'ori and Weapons Training Sgt. Major David Karisa Barisa, Kenya Navy Base Sgt. Major Boniface Munyili Ndana and Kenya Air Force Base Sgt. Major Maurice Atsango
Runners from various nations and more than 40 U.S. military members and civilians from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, raced through the streets here during the 16th Annual Djibouti International Semi-Marathon March 2.
Almost 800 runners from several African nations, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, crowded the starting line along with racers from France, Germany, Japan and the U.S.
U.S. Army Major Thomas Hammell, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa plans officer, organized
The Maritime Civil Affairs Team 205 was invited to participate in the Kenyan Independence Day Celebration in Lamu, Kenya, December 12.
Known as Jamhuri Day, the celebration marked the 48th anniversary of the country's independence from Great Britain.
"It's a very diverse, but close-knit community," said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Matthew White, MCAT 205 team chief. "They are eager to share their culture with us."
The close working relationship forged between the
Peering through wire-framed spectacles sitting firmly on his round face, the chaplain smiled broadly and spoke to the congregation at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Dec. 18.
"If you have faith greater than that of a mustard seed, you can speak to mountains and command them to move," , Kenyan Ministry of State for Defense Chaplain Lt. Col. Harry Ndirangu, Anglican minister and Protestant chaplain, said, referencing the Christian New Testament.
Ndirangu visited for three weeks a
A Kenyan Ministry of State for Defense chaplain recently spent three weeks exchanging best practices with Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and Camp Lemonnier chaplains from multiple faiths to strengthen each other's military chaplaincy programs.
The second of three Kenyan chaplains to visit Camp Lemonnier during a familiarization program was KMoSD Chaplain (Major) Lucas Gatobu, a Catholic priest and Kenyan Air Force chaplain. He witnessed firsthand how his American counter
Military medical providers from Kenya and the U.S. partnered with several non-governmental organizations to provide medical care to about 2,000 Kenyans during a Medical Civic Action Program August 24 - 31.
The eight-day MEDCAP was conducted in the villages of Mnazini and Assa in southeast Kenya. The villages lie in the rural Tana River district, which, like most of East Africa, is experiencing significant drought.
“This area has been hard hit by drought and famine,” said U.S. Army
More than 2,200 students celebrated the dedication of two new school dormitories, October 11, in Chwele, Kenya.
The dormitories, located in Mbungoma East District, are for the Teremi Boys and Chwele Girls Secondary schools. The boys’ dormitory will house 1,400 students and the girls’ dormitory will house 840 students.
Representatives from the Kenyan District Commissioner’s Office, U.S. Embassy in Kenya and the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, as well as the Kenyan dire
Service members from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Forward Operation Location Kenyasi traveled to Suubi Children's Home in Entebbe, Uganda, to deliver stuffed animals October 15. Members of FOL Kenyasi volunteer at the children's home weekly. The stuffed animals were donated by Loving Hugs, an American organization based in Littleton, Colorado and founded by a former U.S. soldier who was inspired to help injured children in Iraq. Loving Hugs now partners with the U.S. Navy,
Nineteen Kenyan Army engineers from multiple units finished a five-day civil affairs field training exercise at the Amani Peace Operations Training Village in Embakasi, Kenya, October 21.
The soldiers participated in a series of scenarios designed and implemented by an instruction team made up of seven engineers from the Kenyan Army and facilitated by five U.S. Army soldiers from the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion attached to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. The exercise cove
A year of anticipation gave way to children dancing and singing during the Mkokoni Primary School dedication at Mkokoni, Kenya, September 21.
"Our children will now be afforded a better education," said Charles Mzee Joseph, Mkokoni Primary School head teacher.
The dedication of one new school building and three renovated buildings was attended by students and community members, as well as members of the Kenyan Ministry of Education, the U.S. Embassy and the Combined Joint
In an opportunity to engage with his U.S. military counterparts, a Kenyan Ministry of State for Defense chaplain spent three weeks exchanging best practices with Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and Camp Lemonnier chaplains from multiple denominations to strengthen each other's military chaplaincy programs.
The visit, from August 29 to September 16, allowed KMoSD Muslim Imam (Major) Rajab Athumani to witness firsthand how his American counterparts interacted with service m
For the first time in its nine-year history, the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa hosted a senior enlisted conference, August 22 to 24, bringing together service members from 11 countries, spanning four continents, to enhance regional and international partnerships and build esprit de corps.
The CJTF-HOA 2011 Senior Non-Commissioned Symposium hosted representatives from Djibouti, Rwanda, Japan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Spain, Seychelles, Mauritius, Burundi, Uganda and the United Sta
Chaplains from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Religious Affairs office welcomed three Kenyan Ministry of Defense (KMoD) chaplains to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, July 5, 2011, during a U.S. military professional chaplaincy familiarization visit.
Catholic Bishops (Colonels) Alfred Rotich and Paul Simuyu and Muslim Imam (Lieutenant Colonel) Mohammed Ahmed met with U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael Franken, CJTF-HOA commander, and visited several camp locations to inc
U.S. sailors assigned to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) partnered with four Kenyan Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) instructors and more than 30 trainees during a Humanitarian Mine Action Program at the Humanitarian Peace Support School (HPSS) in Nairobi, Kenya, May 18, 2011.
The three-week program allowed service members the opportunity to share best practices on safely removing land mines and explosive remnants through several classes and basic practical
Chaplain (U.S. Navy Captain) Jon Cutler, director of Religious Affairs for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), and U.S. Navy Chief Religious Programs Specialist Antoine Roach traveled to Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 25 to May 1 to meet with religious leaders and discuss new initiatives promoting regional stability.
The trip included meetings with representatives from the All Africa Council of Churches (AACC), Kenyan Ministry of Defense (KMOD)
The Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 208 from Manda Bay, Kenya, spent a week visiting health dispensaries in the Tana Delta region to conduct assessments, and speak with nurses, community health workers and locals in preparation for a future Medical Civil Action Project (MEDCAP) to support Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health.
The team is currently working with the area’s health officer to identify the hospital or health dispensary most in need of additional training or assistance, accor
