U.S. Africa Command opened its doors to business, government and regional civic leaders in the Stuttgart area to learn more about the command during an open house event September 10, 2009.

As U.S. Africa Command approaches its second year as the newest unified geographic command in the Department of Defense, General William E. Ward, commander, wanted to give the visitors insight into the evolution and growth experienced by the command since its establishment.

During the four-hour event, more than 120 German and international dignitaries toured the command's facilities on Kelley Barracks, located in a suburb of Stuttgart. Among the guests were the minister of the interior of Baden-Württemberg, Minister Heribert Rech, and the state secretary of the ministry of social affairs, Heditha Hillenbrand.

"Being hosted here in Germany, I felt it was very important that our German friends, our hosts, who also partner with us, understand this command because we are, in fact, neighbors," Ward said. "What's going on at Kelley Barracks is an activity, an enterprise, that is designed to do our very best as we work with partners from around the world.”

Africa Command better enables the Department of Defense to work in concert with U.S. government organizations, African militaries, and the international community to assist African nations in efforts to become more capable in providing for their own security and stability.

Guests spent an afternoon touring workspaces and listening to a series of presentations from the various headquarters staff sections explaining how the command is organized and operates, along with overviews of the dozens of programs the command manages and administers. They also met some of the more 1,000 military and civilian employees at the headquarters.

Some visitors shared their impressions of their visit on “AFRICOM Dialogue,” the Africa Command’s public blog section.

Volkmar Krämer of the Stuttgart Airport Company, wrote: “I found my visit at Africom quite impressive, and I would like to encourage General Ward and his team to aggressively pursue the path that they have taken. Cooperation and the promotion of self-help for the people in Africa will certainly be a long and difficult journey but, in my opinion, it is the right path for showing many people on the African continent the way towards a more successful and self-determined future. This approach represents a significant and, in my perspective, positive change from earlier programs that were quite expensive but did not yield any long-term positive results for the people.”

Read all public feedback at AFRICOM Dialogue:
http://www.africom.mil/africomDialogue.asp?entry=20&lang=0.