Members of the Delaware Air National Guard and the Military Police Company of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) recently completed a military to military (mil-to-mil) security cooperation workshop at Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe, Malawi, August 10-14, 2009.

The event, the first to take place in Malawi, focused on ground base security standards with an emphasis on law enforcement in garrison. Participants included 28 Malawian military police.

Captain Barry Strube and Technical Sergeant David Webb from the Delaware Air National Guard led the week-long session in Lilongwe, which included discussion on military police operations in a tactical environment.

The MDF Military Police Company welcomed the opportunity to exchange ideas and concepts with their American counterparts from the Air National Guard. Major Simeon Namwera, the military police company commander and MDF Provost Marshall said that this event will "help the MDF military police and improve their ability to maintain law and order on MDF military establishments."

At the event's opening ceremony, American Ambassador to Malawi Peter Bodde hailed the exchange as a "very good sign of deepening bilateral relations between the two countries." Bodde also mentioned areas beyond security where Malawi and the United States work closely together, such as promoting economic development, improving health care and bettering education.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Lieutenant General Ernest C. Ntonya, Deputy Defence Force Commander, expressed the gratitude of the entire MDF for this event and noted past cooperation between the MDF and the U.S. Department of Defense. Ntonya asked the visiting Air Force facilitators to impart as much knowledge as possible and share their professional experiences with the MDF military police. He encouraged Strube and Webb to "ensure they left Malawi with empty baskets, having left behind knowledge and ideas for the military police."

The ground base security standards workshop is designed to assist the MDF in developing procedures for implementing security measures at home or when deployed. During the workshop the Air National Guard team introduced several topics of interest to the MDF. Chief among them were a review of base security and controlled access methods and procedures, patrolling and presence to deter intrusion, methods of marking military boundaries and channeling traffic, observation of base and training area perimeters, and a review of U.S. procedures for establishing the threat level and appropriate measured security responses to the threat.

Security cooperation events like this one in Malawi make a significant difference in helping the MDF to develop professionalism in its all volunteer force. The workshop provide the opportunity for members of the MDF Military Police Company to exchange information with their American counterparts and share their experiences and the challenges they face daily.

Several of the military policemen have participated in peace operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are looking forward to deploying with the MDF to Chad as part of a Malawian contingent for the United Nations MINURCAT II peacekeeping mission.

Military Police Command Sergeant Major Dick Mwamvani said the most useful part of the exchange was the interaction with the American servicemen who were able to share their experiences applying theories to actual situations.