Video- http://youtu.be/M-4b_XvzOcc

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Hello and welcome to this edition of the AFRICOM update… I’m Scott Nielsen from the AFRICOM Public Affairs Office.  Let’s take a look at the headlines.

The U.S. Army led exercise Central Accord is underway in the nation of Cameroon.  One thousand soldiers from eight nations are participating.  From the U.S., the Army Reserve's 3rd Medical Command is training African armies in emergency medicine. 

At Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa… they’re going a lot deeper than just “Googleing it.”  The command has just wrapped up its first ever open-source intelligence course. The course teaches different ways to collect open-source material and how to piece that information together with other intelligence they have.  Participating were service members from the U.S., Canada, and Uganda.

And finally… a children’s home in Mauritius is a little better off thanks to some sailors from the guided-missile destroyer U.S.S. Nitze.  The sailors visited the home… taking time to repair the building and playground equipment.  Many of the children who live there are victims of sexual abuse and slavery.

We have a number of other stories you can link directly to this week… let’s take a look.

Remember Kony 2012… the video by the organization invisible children which went viral a couple of years ago. Well, the Counter-LRA program manager for invisible children, Sean Poole spent some time visiting the AFRICOM headquarters this week.  We’ve just posted a story on his visit and what he had to say. You can read it by clicking this link. http://www.africom.mil/NewsByCategory/Article/11931/nine-questions-for-sean-poole

On the high seas off the west coast of Africa… the Exercise Saharan express 2014 is now in the history books.  By clicking this link… you can watch petty officer Robert Price’s recap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_159823271&feature=iv&src_vid=M-4b_XvzOcc&v=DhskS-UDVCU

Saturday March 22 is International World Water Day… a day set aside to raise awareness about this precious resource.  The United Nations has set up a special web page dedicated to world water day which you can find at this link.

http://www.youtube.com/user/UNWaterWorldWaterDay?annotation_id=annotation_4122634035&feature=iv&src_vid=M-4b_XvzOcc

Meantime here at AFRICOM in our question of the week… we asked some of you for your thoughts on the topic of water in Africa.  You can find that story by clicking here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2734864335&feature=iv&src_vid=M-4b_XvzOcc&v=1IHbsTQkRVE

You can join the celebration and share your thoughts on facebook and twitter at hashtag #worldwaterday.

Time now to check in with Ben Benson with this week’s media review.  Ben, what’s been keeping the media busy this week?

Ben- Thanks Scott

We noted a number of maritime stories that made headlines this week.

From Senegal we saw reports of the recently completed annual Saharan Express Exercise, during which sailors from U.S. Naval forces Europe-Africa worked with Marines and Coastguardsmen from 13 partner nations.

Another maritime story did not make such big headlines, but is worth noting.  We saw reports that the European Union has drawn up a blueprint to support gulf of guinea countries to address the many challenges of maritime insecurity and organized crime. The strategy on the gulf of guinea is a comprehensive and long-standing approach to support west and central African countries' efforts to overcome poverty and attain lasting stability.

Lastly, you likely saw the news of the stateless tanker morning glory.  This vessel had escaped to sea with an unauthorized load of Libyan oil, was captured by U.S. Forces and is being returned to Libya.  This incident once again highlights the importance of maritime security.  Helping our partner nations to build capacity and tackle security incidents like this is one of the ways that U.S. Africa Command is contributing to improved security and stability in Africa.

Thanks Ben.

That wraps up this edition of the AFRICOM update. Be sure to like us on facebook and follow us on twitter by clicking on the links below. And, send your comments at hashtag #africomupdate. 

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