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The United States is dispatching troops to Uganda to assist the nations of the region in tracking down and eliminating a terrorist group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Complying with the War Powers Act, President Obama sent a letter to the Congressional leadership on Friday, October 14, 2011, notifying them of the deployment.

The President makes the following statements and assurances:

• The force will number about 100
• The force will be combat equipped
• The force will not engage in combat unless in self-defense
• The force will assist those nations that request it, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).
• The first troops were dispatched to Uganda on Wednesday, October 12.

The Lord’s Resistance Army grew out of an Acholi tribal movement in northern Uganda that was intended to overthrow the national government. It was first named in 1991 and has operated in northern Uganda and other nations in the region ever since. Peace talks have been unsuccessful.

The movement’s leader is Joseph Kony. He was raised Roman Catholic but now practices a mystical version of Christianity where he received messages from angels. His followers believe Kony to be a prophet and the Army is as much a cult as a guerrilla organization. He was indicted in 2005 by the International Criminal Court and an arrest warrant issued.

The region is home to many bands of rebels, tribal factions, outlaws and disaffected military units. The LRA stands out amidst the others for several reasons. Its cadre contains several former Ugandan military officers and it now has two decades of fighting experience. It is noted for its large scale abductions of women and children, as well as the “usual” rapes, tortures and massacres. It also has demonstrated the ability to strike over distances of hundreds of miles.

The U.S. State Department says this about the LRA:

For more than two decades, the LRA has murdered, raped and kidnapped tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Since 2008 alone, the LRA has killed more than 2,400 people and abducted more than 3,400. The United Nations estimates that over 380,000 people are displaced across Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and South Sudan as a result of LRA activity.

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The LRA has been driven out of Uganda for the most part. At this time it is raiding in the northern DRC but has reached into South Sudan and the CAR. A battalion of troops from the DRC, trained by the united States, is now deployed in the northeastern Congo.

United States troops have conducted several exercises in Uganda in recent years. Ugandan troops are serving in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeeping force. Many Ugandans have also served as facility guards in Iraq, hired by civilian contractors for those duties.

October 16 through October 24 saw units of the United States military assigned to Africa Command working with the militaries of five East African nations for Exercise Natural Fire 10. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda contributed troops and resources, as well as civilians from various governmental ministries to this combined field and tabletop exercise.

East African Community military members line up to board a CH-47 Chinook for transport to a range, Kitgum, Uganda, Oct. 20, 2009. Combined forces from the East African Community and the United States are working together during Natural Fire 10 to learn from each other. (US Army photo by Spc. Jason Nolte)

The field exercise was held in northern Uganda, in the vicinity of the city of Kitgum. Various scenarios were practiced by the troops from the six nations. In addition, engineering assistance was provided by the militaries to several public buildings.

Cpl. David Bundi, Kenya, cuts the base off a door frame at Kitgum High School, Kitgum, Uganda, Oct. 17, 2009. Combined forces from the East African Community and the United States are working together to refurbish a building at the high school. (US Army photo by Spc. Jason Nolte)

Construction Electrician 3rd Class Mary Ward, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, smiles for a photo while painting a wall at Kitgum High School, Kitgum, Uganda, Oct. 17, 2009. Combined forces from the East African Community and the United States are working together to refurbish a building at the high school. (US Army photo by Spc. Jason Nolte)

The various nations also participated in medical and dental clinics in Kitgum, seeing over 11,500 patients and helping to deliver 2 babies.

Rwandan Private Clemence Muramutsa prepares to draw blood on a Ugandan patient during Natural Fire 10 at Palabek Kal Health Clinic in Uganda, Oct 18, 2009. Natural Fire 10 is a humanitarian and disaster relief exercise that will enhance participants' capabilities to work together in response to complex humanitarian emergencies. This year's exercise is held 16 - 25 October 2009 and involves almost 1300 people from 5 East African countries and the United States. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samara Scott/Released)

Cpl. Charles Ntakiyirushamaboko, a Rwanda Defence Forces dentist works alongside Pvt. Michael Leti, a Uganda People’s Defence Force dentist to prepares young Agee Jostaka’s misaligned teeth for extraction. Photo by Capt. Ronald Kakurungu, Public Information Officer, Uganda People’s Defence Forces

More photos of this exercise may be found on Flickr.

The largest U.S. Defense Department-sponsored exercise in Africa this year yielded many important lessons, the commander of U.S. Army Africa said yesterday.

Army Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III discussed Natural Fire 10 — a multi-national partnership that brought together troops from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the United States — during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable.

“We came together as friends and partners, and I’ve got to tell you, I’m absolutely amazed at the achievements that were accomplished there and the outcome and progress made during the month of October,” Garrett said. The 10-day exercise, held during October in Uganda, allowed multiple countries not only to achieve lasting partnerships, but also to help the people of Africa, he added.

“[The exercise] was a humanitarian and disaster-relief exercise that was designed to enhance our partner participating nations’ capabilities to work together to develop regional solutions to the complex humanitarian emergencies,” Garrett said. Medical and dental professionals treated more than 11,500 people, and even delivered two babies in northern Uganda, he said.

U.S. Army Africa missions are geared toward sustained security engagements with African land forces to promote security, stability and peace within Africa, Garrett explained. The command is the Army component of U.S. Africa Command.

In addition to the medical services provided, partner nations also tailored the exercise to focus on global health threats. Leaders and exercise participants came together in Kampala and Entebbe during a simulated natural disaster to learn how to address a global health threat that required international support and coordination.

“As we look at the future in Africa and other places in the world, [we're] making sure that we have the capacity to deal with that, which is frankly why we’re in Africa, [to help them achieve self-sustaining African security capacity," Garrett said.

The "tabletop exercise," he said, was the largest and most comprehensive pandemic response exercise conducted in Africa to date.

"It included not only the participating countries in the exercise, the six nations, but also a very large international contingent and U.S. government and interagency representatives," Garrett said.

The training provided for the global health threat was tailored toward logistic and medical support and security concerns. He added that the training targeted the procedures required to disseminate vaccines effectively during this type of threat.

"If a civilian health ministry needed trucks to move vaccines into an area, they needed to understand the procedures to reach out and gain those trucks and drivers and bring it all to bear and create a convoy, move the vaccines out, secure the vaccines, distribute the vaccines [and] administer the vaccines,” Garrett said.

Aside from medical and dental assistance, the exercise also allowed participants to complete three extensive construction projects as part of the community outreach. Although the exercise lasted for only about two weeks, many things were accomplished that can be used as prevention for future global health threats and pandemic outbreaks, Garrett said.

“I think the greatest accomplishments are the relationships that were fostered and created during the exercise and will continue as we go into the future and [the potential to] maintain these relationships as we work to achieve self-sustaining African security capacity,” the general said.

DoD
Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly Burgess

Spc. Samantha Greeninger, an Army Reserve medic from Cincinnati, Ohio, assigned to the 629th Forward Surgical Team of Columbus, Ohio, and a Ugandan medic named Edwin entertain Ugandan children waiting for treatment at the Pajimo Clinic in rural Uganda.

For the past week, about 60 Army Reserve medical personnel assigned to the 629th Forward Surgical Team of Columbus, Ohio, and the 7225th Medical Support Unit from Greenville, S.C., have been providing medical care to rural Ugandans, seeing about 700 people a day.

“We’re sort of an emergency room for anyone who shows up,” said 1st. Lt. Matthew Boyer, a Thornville, Ohio, resident and RN with the 629th FST. “As a nurse, it’s great when we can see that many people.”

When the two buses of medical personnel arrived at Pajimo Clinic around 8 a.m., there was already a long line at the gate. Some people had traveled from miles away, including an 11-year-old girl who walked seven miles by herself to be treated for a skinned knee. Many of the people had dressed themselves and their children in their finest clothing: colorful dresses, robes, and formal jackets.

The local residents filed in through the gate to a triage station, where U.S., Ugandan and Tanzanian medical professionals inquired about their illness or injury. Some were given medicine and released, while others were referred to one or more of the other four stations: medical, dental, optometry and pharmacy.

“There is a difference in disease patterns and how they present in Africa as compared to the U.S.,” said Lt. Col. Ronald Januchoski, a physician and commander of the 7225th MSU.

“With the tropical disease spectrum here, you see things you’d never see in the U.S. It’s really helped me grow as a physician.”

Januchoski and Maj. Phillip Cummings, a physician from Fayetteville, N.C., also assigned to the 7225th MSU, treated patients at the medical station for such complaints as malaria, skin infection, pleurisy, broken bones and minor wounds, such as an infected cut on a little girl who caught her foot in her bicycle spokes.

“We’re primarily providing Level I care, which is general medical care,” said Col. William Myers, an orthopedic surgeon assigned to the 7225th MSU. “I did have the opportunity to examine some X- rays and provide some consultations to the local doctors on orthopedic problems.”

U.S. Navy and Ugandan personnel provided dental services, which included multiple extractions due to lack of dental hygiene. Patients were provided with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and instructions on how to care for their teeth.

Pfc. Kendra Hinds, a medic from Lubbock, Texas, deployed with the 7225th Medical Support Unit out of Greenville, S.C., examines a child in the optometry section of Pajimo Clnic.

In optometry, Dr. Francisco Cordera, an optometrist from Puerto Rico deployed with the 7225th, examined patients while other Soldiers conducted vision tests. The vision tests were pieces of paper on which was drawn the capital letter “E,” facing different ways and sized differently as the rows descended across the paper. Many patients could not read the English alphabet, but this test allowed them to indicate which direction the “E” was facing. Patients were issued prescription eyeglasses, some for the first time in their lives.

U.S. Navy pharmacist Lt. Cdr. Brett English and U.S. Army Reserve 1st. Lt. Jon Schuller were assisted in the pharmacy by Morris, a Ugandan pharmacist whose guidance was instrumental in prescribing the medicines.

“Getting local national input on designing formulary is crucial,” said English. “They know the people. Also, we see predominantly pediatric patients, but a lot of our medicines are adult-strength.”

English explained that the dosing can be difficult not just in scaling down adult doses for children, but because some patients are malnourished, and their digestive systems cannot handle a large dose such an 800 mg ibuprofen. Morris’ expertise was critically important in assigning the correct doses. He also knew how to provide quinine for malaria, a treatment that–though effective–is no longer used in the United States.

Patients were not limited to how many stations they could visit, and the team worked diligently throughout the day to treat as many as possible.

The medical personnel also provided for some unexpected contingencies. For instance, though they had not brought maternity capabilities or equipment, when a 19-year-old woman named Linda went into labor at the gate, 1st. Lt. Victoria Lynn Watson, a labor and delivery nurse at Abilene (Texas) Regional Medical Center in her civilian occupation, rushed in to help. Watson, the Pajimo Clinic’s certified midwife Stella Betty Lamono, and Pfc. Kendra Hinds, a medic from Lubbock, Texas, worked together to deliver a healthy, 5.5 lb. baby boy.

[Lt. Watson later delivered a second baby, to be named 'Victoria'.]

“It’s neat to see their skills and what they do to deliver a baby as compared to what we do in the states,” Watson said.

By 4:30 p.m., the team had treated 714 patients –715 counting the newborn. They boarded the buses and returned to the camp to prepare for the next day.

The medical outreach continued every day for a week, part of a U.S. Army Africa exercise, Natural Fire 10, in which the United States and five East African nations (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) practice disaster relief and medical outreach. The intent was to learn each other’s skills and procedures so that they will be able to operate more effectively in the event of an actual disaster.

“What we’ve started doing in Africa with the different countries we’re working with is going to go a long way to stabilizing the region, even when we’re not here,” Boyer said.

DVIDS
Story and photos by Major Corey Schultz

For more on Natural Fire 10

The construction site of the Walela Culvert Bridge, where a crew of U.S. Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-11, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa work along side with counterpart engineers from the Uganda People Defense Force on May 5 during the final construction phase of the bridge. Funded by CJTF-HOA,the $375,000 bridge was constructed by 25 U.S. Navy construction engineers partnered and worked side-by-side with counterpart engineers from the Uganda People Defense Force. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn Price

Sailors from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 Detachment Horn of Africa from Gulfport, Miss., have completed work on a concrete bridge of major importance to villagers here and continue to work on a second one nearby.

The crew of Seabees built the Aromo low-water crossing bridge over a small river, replacing a lighter bridge that washed out during the last seasonal high floods and heavy rainfall. The bridge will once again connect the village of Aromo with the road leading to the city of Lira and other local areas, such as the public school.

“The Seabees’ strong work ethic and extensive technical skills are providing Ugandans with two bridges that will be able to withstand the seasonal flooding and provide transportation solutions to the largest vehicles used in the region,” explained Lt. Garth Pertersen, Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa country planner for Uganda. CJTF-HOA is based at camp Lemonier, Djibouti, and operates in 13 East African countries. NMCB 11 Det. HOA is currently on a six-month deployment to CJTF-HOA’s area of responsibility, working in four of those nations. One of CJTF-HOA’s missions is to foster regional security through infrastructure projects like this bridge.

In order to work at the remote project site efficiently, the Seabees set up a small tent camp only 50 yards away from the bridge. The camp was designed to be self-sufficient, giving the Seabees their own power and was where they lived and kept supplies for the project. It was also on the edge of local farmland, with goats and cattle constantly grazing next to the camp. The living conditions give the crew a unique chance to grow, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class John Johnston, project crew member.

“No one wants to live the way we do,” Johnston said. “But it gives you such a great understanding of what the people we are helping have to endure on a daily basis. I have definitely developed a greater appreciation for the little things in life,” said Johnston.

“By living in the vicinity of local Ugandans,” said Pertersen, “the Seabees are able to interact on a daily basis with Ugandan civilians and build goodwill between our two countries. The efforts of the Seabees of NMCB 11 outside Lira will provide benefits for both the people of Uganda and the United States for years to come.”

NMCB 11 also had the opportunity to work with engineers from the Ugandan People’s Defense Force, allowing more growth for relationships as well as cross-training.

“It’s been an amazing experience working with the Ugandan engineers,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Peter A. Belcastro, a builder and project crew leader. “They have such a strong desire to learn and their work ethic is incredible. I would be happy to serve side by side with them anytime.”

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Peter A. Belcastro, Crew Leader, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-11, poses with a local boy May 5, 2009, after learning the boy had been accepted to a private school, as a result of PO2 Belcastro's financial sponsorship. Belcastro is currently working in the area on the Walela Culvert bridge and has almost daily interaction with the locals. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn Price

The villagers, mostly children, watched the work daily, waiting for the Seabees to finish working each day before interacting with the crew. This was also the highlight of the day for the Seabees.

“Handing out our extra water bottles and throwing the football with the kids is by far the best part of the day,” explained Johnston. “No matter how exhausted you are, those kids can always bring a smile to your face.”

“The people around here are genuinely nice, too,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Trent Thurnhorst, an equipment mechanic. “One guy came to my shop and began to cut the high grass. He told me ‘I do this for friendship’.”

Johnston said the work was draining and living conditions were below what they considered normal, but mission progress and success came from prospect of improving the lives of Ugandan youth.

“Some days,” he said, “I don’t feel like getting out of bed and going to work. On those days, I remind myself that this project will ensure the local kids can cross the river during the rainy season in order to get to school. Knowing my work has such a tremendous impact on the local community is enough motivation in itself. There is no project I’d rather be on.”

The service members of CJTF-HOA employ an indirect approach to counter violent extremism. The task force helps build the internal capacities of countries at risk to help them prevail against extremists exploiting instability.

DVIDS
Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Erick Holmes