More than 30 officers and civilians from 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) became the first graduates of a new logistics course hosted by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana on February 2-13, 2009.

The two-week Partnership for Integrated Logistics Operations and Tactics (PILOT) course, a joint Canadian Pearson Peacekeeping Center and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) venture, focused on the planning, coordination and conduct of logistics in peace support operations.

The KAIPTC is one of three peacekeeping training centers of excellence in the ECOWAS region and focuses on operational level education for field grade officers.

In support of U.S. Africa Command's commitment to building partnerships with African nations, Marine Brigadier General Tracy L. Garrett, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Africa (MFA), participated in a panel discussion with the course facilitators and students and delivered a keynote speech at the graduation ceremony.

In her speech, Garrett highlighted the importance of civilian and military logisticians integrated efforts to achieve success in today's complex peace support operation planning.

Marine Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Seipt, MFA assistant chief of staff for logistics, has been working with KAIPTC, U.S. Army Africa and U.S. AFRICOM for more than a year to bring the PILOT program together. He said this first iteration of the course focused on a mixture of lectures, practical application exercise, and group discussions to encourage the development of knowledge and skills among participants.

"[The PILOT course] is a component of our overall strategy to improve the logistics capacity our African partner nations," said Seipt. "The overarching theme is that by MFA partnering with U.S. Army Africa, KAIPTC and other international partners, AFRICOM is better able to work with our African partner nations as they develop and strengthen their logistical capacities."

Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jerome A.M. Jackson, U.S. Africa Command's liaison officer to the KAIPTC and PILOT course director, said that the PILOT course comes from a network of partnerships between the KAIPTC, U.S. AFRICOM, and the Canadian government, which provided substantial funding for course. Marines and soldiers worked in concert with representatives from the region to make the PILOT course into a reality.

"The goal is to create a multi-national officer core with an awareness and preparedness to be able to assume logistical staff roles in a United Nations or African Union peacekeeping mission," Seipt said.

According to Jackson, the course focused on a train-the-trainer concept, and upon completion of the course, officers and civilians would be able to return to their respective organizations to share the information in order to enhance the logistics support capacity of the ECOWAS Standby Force.