AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony

Gen. David Rodriguez highlighted the need for regional cooperation to address security challenges.

By Klutts, Christopher C. SSG , United States Africa Command Mar 01, 2016

View Gallery

Gallery contains 6 images

ST. LOUIS, Senegal – Flintlock 2016, U.S. Africa Command’s annual exercise for Special Operations Forces, came to a close during a ceremony Feb. 29 in St. Louis, Senegal after three weeks of training with more than 2,200 participants from 28 partner nations.

“The true value of this exercise, however, is not measured by the number of attendees but on our ability to build on our collective knowledge and put to the test in actual operations against our common enemy,” said U.S. Army Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Africa Command.

Flintlock is designed to test and strengthen the interoperability of multinational Special Operations Forces while building the military capacity of partner nations in North and West Africa. Many participants will immediately apply what they learned from Flintlock during operations against violent extremist organizations in the region.

“The lessons received here will translate directly into tactical advantages as troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin and our allies continue to execute combat operations against Boko Haram as part of a multinational joint task force,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said violent extremism, illicit trafficking and other illegal activities affect multiple nations and can only be addressed by building partnerships and sharing knowledge.

“The threats facing all of us participating today are cross-border and require a regional response. Exercises like Flintlock provide an opportunity for each nation to highlight their unique knowledge, capabilities and capacity. While these abilities are impressive on their own, it is even more impressive when we build on each other’s strengths and combined talents,” Rodriguez added.

The ranking representative from exercise co-host Mauritania echoed Rodriguez’s call for multinational cooperation.

“The regional approach presented in this exercise represents a collective solution to our collective challenges,” said Mauritania Brig. Gen. Hanana Sidi Hanana, deputy chief of defense for Mauritania

U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal Jim Zumwalt said Flintlock was more than a military exercise. With the help of interagency partners, Flintlock 2016 incorporated medical, law enforcement and community outreach projects that strengthened the military’s relationship with civilians in the region.

“As you know, collective security does not rest on military cooperation alone. Security is about forging strong relationships with the civilians that you protect. The civilian population best knows their own community, and they are your allies in routing out potential terrorist threats,” Zumwalt said.

Following his remarks, Senegal Army Maj. Gen. Mamadou Sow, chief of general staff, recognized the contribution of U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, Special Operations Command-Africa commander, by inducting him into the Senegal National Order of the Lion which is the nation’s highest category for military awards.

“I want to recognize the outstanding job that the Senegalese government and military did in hosting this exercise. They bestowed quite an honor on me today with this award. I accept it on behalf of all the outstanding work the men and women did during this exercise,” Bolduc said.

Flintlock 2016 was the tenth Flintlock exercise and third hosted by Senegal. Partner nation militaries from Africa, Europe and North America trained throughout the country in addition to locations in Mauritania. Visit the Flintlock Feature Page for photos, video and more from the exercise.

U.S. Forces conduct strike against al Shabaab

Federal Government of Somalia engages ISIS-Somalia with support from U.S. Forces

U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting al Shabaab

Africa Endeavor

U.S. Forces conduct strike against ISIS-Somalia

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony

Gen. David Rodriguez highlighted the need for regional cooperation to address security challenges.

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (1) of (6)

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (2) of (6)

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (3) of (6)

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (4) of (6)

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (5) of (6)

AFRICOM Commander Speaks at Flintlock Closing Ceremony (6) of (6)