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African standby force ends field training exercise

Xinhua, November 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

A field training exercise has been concluded in South Africa by the standby brigades that constitute the African Standby Force (ASF), said an AU statement on Thursday.

The exercise, which officially was opened on Oct 19, 2015, culminated in the closing ceremony held on Sunday at the South African Army Combat Training Centre, in Lohatla, according to the statement.

South African President Jacob Zuma stressed that the exercise was a turning point in Africa's collective quest for peace and security.

"Today is a historic day in the quest for peace and security in Africa. It demonstrates the positive relationships between African military, police and civilians and, more importantly, the collaboration between the respective home countries of these forces," said Zuma.

Speaking at the same function, Smail Chergui, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, thanked the host nation, South Africa, and the regional standby brigades for availing their capacities and resources for the Exercise.

"Over 6,000 military, police and civilian officers from across all five standby brigades participated in the exercise at both the strategic headquarters, in Addis Ababa, and here in South Africa," he said.

In his remarks, Atanasio M'tumuke, Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Mozambique's Defence Minister, said the Exercise would go a long way towards enhancing the understanding and practice of multidimensional and multinational peace support operation and improving interoperability among the regional brigades of the ASF.

The closing ceremony witnessed an array of demonstrations, including a march out parade, displays by police and civilian components, a simulated air strike and artillery bombardment, as well as a simulated attack by the ASF and parachute jumps, according to the statement.

The ASF successfully tested its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) as a startup operation and its capacity to transition into a full multidimensional peace support operation, said the statement.

The exercise further tested the ASF's level of readiness for Full Operational Capability (FOC) based on the African Union training doctrine and objectives, it added.

This was the first ever field exercise undertaken by the African Union Commission at continental level, according to the statement. Enditem