Exercise Cutlass Express 2022 commences

This year’s exercise leverages the recently adopted Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, which 14 nations are signatories, as a framework for exercising information sharing practices and enforcing marine rule of law.

By U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa , U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa DJIBOUTI, Djibouti Feb 06, 2022

View Gallery

Gallery contains 2 images

Maritime forces from East Africa, West Indian Ocean nations, Europe, North America, and several international organizations began the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express 2022 with an opening ceremony held at the Coast Guard Training Center in Djibouti, Feb. 6, 2022.

CE 22, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet, assesses and improves combined maritime law enforcement capacity, promote national and regional security in East Africa, and increases interoperability between the U.S., African nations, and international partners. CE22 will be linked with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s International Maritime Exercise, eliminating regional seams and increasing U.S. global capabilities and interoperability.

“The valuable operational experience gained during Cutlass Express contributes to participating countries’ ability to suppress and counter illegal activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, human smuggling, and drug trafficking,” said Jonathan Pratt, U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti. “Our participation together over the next 12 days is key to help us strengthen our relationships and recommit to the principles that guide this partnership—adherence to rule of law and the capacity to disrupt illicit maritime activity.

This year’s exercise leverages the recently adopted Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, which 14 nations are signatories, as a framework for exercising information sharing practices and enforcing marine rule of law. The participating nations will be testing their ability to detect or disrupt illicit trafficking, piracy, illegal fishing, as well as search and rescue situations.

The exercise will improve Maritime Domain Awareness, information sharing between Maritime Operation Centers, maritime interdiction, adherence to the rule of law, and counter-proliferation interdiction capabilities in order to disrupt illicit maritime activity and strengthen safety and security in East Africa.

The exercise begins with an in-port training period followed by at-sea scenarios and concludes with a senior leadership symposium. The underway portion of the exercise tests the ship’s abilities to conduct maritime interdiction operations by boarding teams against simulated suspect vessels, detecting illicit activity, and follow-on evidence collection procedures.

The valuable operational experience gained during Cutlass Express contributes to participating countries ability to suppress and counter illegal activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, human smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal trade in wildlife.

“International Maritime Exercise 2022 and Cutlass Express 2022 will play a critical role in the ongoing development of regional cooperation in support of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and improving information sharing and maritime domain awareness among the 12 participating nations,” said Capt. Cannon Neslen, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Maritime Partnership Program, U.S. Navy Reserve Detachment 118.

Participating nations in Cutlass Express 2022 include Comoros, Djibouti, Georgia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, United Kingdom, and United States. Interpol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime are also participating in the exercise.

“Coming together to coordinate our capabilities throughout the maritime domain not only breeds regional security and stability,” said Capt. David Family, Commanding Officer, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. “It gives us a chance to deepen our partnerships and cultivate new ones moving forward.”

U.S. Forces Strike ISIS-Somalia

AFRICOM Commander Visits Kenya

AFRICOM Commander Visits Somalia to Strengthen Partnership

AFRICOM Commander visits Somalia

AFRICOM Leader Focuses on African Maritime Security in the West Indian Ocean

U.S. Naval Forces Europe & Africa

Cutlass Express

Comoros

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

Exercise Cutlass Express 2022 commences

This year’s exercise leverages the recently adopted Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, which 14 nations are signatories, as a framework for exercising information sharing practices and enforcing marine rule of law.

Exercise Cutlass Express 2022 commences

Cutlass Express 2022 dive training