Born and raised in Kitale, Kenya, Major Eliud Keter is now living at the center of the Africa Partnership Station East mission aboard the APS East platform high speed vessel Swift (HSV 2).

In the role of operations officer, or "OPS" as he is commonly referred to by the international APS staff, Keter has the challenging responsibility of organizing the plans and details of the overall APS mission.

Coordinating with the APS commander, director of staff, training officer, ship rider coordinator and their assistants, Keter sets the daily course of action through a master document called a schedule of events.

"A mission framework was developed during the APS planning conferences," stated APS Director of Staff, Mozambican Navy Commander Misero Mujui about the operations planning. "Since we created an overall vision, OPS has kept us focused on each partner nation visit and thinks ahead to operations in the next port."

Keter's distinguished career and experience as an officer in charge and an aide-de-camp in the Kenya Navy made him well-suited to help plan and organize the APS East mission.

"The day-to-day work is the same; the duties and mission are different," said Keter. "And yet, APS has helped prepare me to face difficult tasks that I could not have completed previously."

Keter says that his three months underway with APS East has also made him a more tolerant, understanding and patient leader; "a very difficult task to master," he points out. "My favorite part of this mission is the vast wealth of experience coming from the different people of the APS partner countries."

For Keter, the 2010 APS East mission is nearly complete and he will return to his country with a new perspective and lessons learned. When asked what he will recommend for future APS East missions, Keter said, "less sailing and more training."

"This APS is good for all; I would like to see us achieve more by extending in-port training to two weeks and to group countries together for a broader perspective."

APS East is an international cooperative initiative aimed at strengthening global maritime safety and security through collaborative training and activities.

Swift and APS East's other platform, USS Nicholas (FFG 47) have visited ports in Djibouti, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania. The ships bring teams of maritime experts from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to provide training and participate in exercises with their African counterparts. Combat lifesaving, damage control, law of war, visit, board, search and seizure, small boat operations/maintenance and physical security are just a few of the training opportunities onboard.

APS East has been conducting missions along the east coast of Africa for a few years and APS East 2010 marks the first year that the mission includes an international staff of partnering-nations. The international staff consists of officers from Brazil, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania and the United States and work directly with the commander to plan and execute the APS East mission, offering a deeper level of experience and exchange of ideas about maritime safety and security in Africa.

Swift and Nicholas are on scheduled deployments within the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. APS East is being conducted in cooperation with Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).