U.S. Ambassador Eric Benjaminson said military cooperation and capacity building are chief priorities in Gabon during a two-day visit with U.S. Africa Command leaders in Stuttgart, Germany February 14-15, 2011.



Ambassador to Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe, Benjaminson met with senior U.S. AFRICOM leaders during his stay, which served as an opportunity to exchange with command staff on areas of mutual interest.



Benjaminson has previously served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassies in Windhoek, Namibia and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where he participated in Theater Security Cooperation meetings with U.S. AFRICOM, and worked with Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes. He's also worked as an economic officer in the Office of Southern African Affairs in Washington and as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, along with various other assignments.



A career diplomat specializing in economic and African Affairs, Benjaminson came to the U.S. Embassy in Gabon in October 2010, during a transitional time for the country. The central African nation underwent a significant change in late 2009 with the election of a new president who pledged to turn around the economy after his late father's previous rule for four decades. The country is now more open and looking for a more diverse partnership with other countries, the ambassador said.



One of Gabon's priorities in their outreach to other countries is an understanding of and a willingness to improve their defense prioritization so that it makes sense within their environment, he added.



"We're seeing quite a bit of eagerness to have an engagement with the U.S. and other militaries in a way that is a partnership in the sense that their government can financially support their end of the partnership, so it's not just assistance, but they're looking at education and training and participating in regional programs."



U.S. AFRICOM has partnered with Gabon to provide both education and training via exercise Africa Endeavor, which Gabon hosted in 2009, and also through U.S. ship visits, regional seminars, non-commission officer training, counter-narcotics and various maritime activities. Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe have also participated in Africa Partnership Station (APS), a key component of maritime education and training, and will continue in 2011 with APS activities planned in Gabon in June.



APS, which aims to enhance regional and maritime safety and security in West and Central Africa, has provided significant benefits to the Gabonese military, said Benjaminson. It not only teaches technical skills and provides a hands-on training environment, but aims to build capacity to sustain maritime assets and skills - one of the priorities for both Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe.



"It's important to have them work within a regional structure," said Benjaminson. "One of the things that you at AFRICOM and we at the embassy have been doing is urging Gabon, which they're very eager to do, to work within these structures because it builds up their contacts and their work with their neighbors and there's a gap in maritime security. I've appreciated that AFRICOM is engaged in both areas, both regional and bilateral, and it's important that we move ahead in both directions at the same time."



Military cooperation is a priority in Gabon, so it's something that Benjaminson said he's willing to devote the time.



"I came [to meet with U.S. AFRICOM] much more for hearing what AFRICOM, as it develops - and it develops very quickly, I'm mean, you're changing your roles all the time - what General Ward, Admiral Leidig and Ambassador Tony Holmes' priorities are, but also [to learn about]the new mechanisms you're developing to implement those policies."



He said his visit served not only to learn more about the command's mission and priorities, but also to discuss opportunities for engagements and to have a more interactive discussion and involvement overall.



"I'd like to show I'm interested in the work that you do because State and DoD are committed to a partnership with AFRICOM and it's very important in a partnership, obviously, to have both sides interested in doing it," said Benjaminson. "And, if I don't signal that there's some chief of mission interest in what you do then…why should I have any right to talk about it? I'd like to reserve my rights to have an opinion in what you do and the positive way to do that is showing interest and not just carping about things that I didn't like that I never bothered to learn about in the first place."