Officers assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit - Kenya and U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) joined together to work with medical laboratories serving the Armed Forces of Liberia, July 2010.

Captain Gabrielle Caldara, of USARAF's command surgeon's office and Major Mike Walter of USAMRU-K joined for a weeklong partnership in Monrovia, Liberia. Their goal was to assess the AFL's laboratory needs to look for ways that U.S. Army medical personnel can help their Liberian counterparts, Caldara said.

The U.S. officers received tours of medical centers to witness the AFL's current medical capabilities, she said.

"That included reviewing equipment, practices, testing, equipment and policies currently used by AFL medical laboratory personnel," Caldara said. "From there, we were able to suggest methods for improvement."

During their stay the team visited the AFL brigade clinic at Edward Binyah Kesselly barracks near Monrovia, the lab facility Camp Sandi Ware in nearby Careysburg, as well as the Camp Barclay Training Center. The AFL is looking to open expand laboratory capabilities at its training camps by hiring new lab technicians.

"In the future, an enlisted U.S. Army medical laboratory NCO could serve as a mentor to strengthen lab capacity," Walter said. "We're recommending that."

The team also spent a day at Monrovia's John F. Kennedy Hospital, where many AFL troops currently go for lab services. Soldiers in the AFL often face a host of diseases, to include malaria, typhoid fever, dengue fever and leishmaniasis.

At the hospital, Walter learned that one of the lab technicians underwent training at USAMRU-K's Malaria Microscopy Center of Excellence program in Kisumu, Kenya.

U.S. Army Africa supports U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) efforts to strengthen capacity with the ranks of Liberia's military. Since early 2009, USARAF has dispatched officers and noncommissioned officer to Liberia to serve as mentors in a variety of fields, such as logistics, military police operations, maintenance and medicine. The mentoring program is known as Operation Onward Liberty.

The initial success of USARAF's support to Liberia is one of several examples of the command's role in partnering on the continent - engaging in sustained ways to create effective African forces that support elected officials and foster peaceful environments.

"This began a process for recommending improvements and to develop ideas to expand capabilities within Liberia's military laboratories," Walter said. "We've established the groundwork for future partnership between AFL laboratories and the U.S. Army."