A visit to U.S. Africa Command's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, August 1, 2012, concluded a 12-day trip to Africa and Europe for 17 newly selected general officers and flag officers.



The visit was part of the CAPSTONE program, a five-week course that prepares the officers to work with armed forces from other nations.



According to Colonel Tim MacGregor, the deputy director for CAPSTONE, this is the only course in the U.S. military that every single general and flag officer in the active-duty military attends, as mandated by the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. This act also requires close cooperation among the branches of the U.S. armed forces to build effective joint-service organizations, such as U.S. AFRICOM.



"The course has several objectives," MacGregor said. "It's to learn and better understand joint doctrine and joint operations, interagency operations, and learn the national security strategy and international relations from more than just book knowledge."



During a day-long orientation at AFRICOM, the officers, also known as CAPSTONE Fellows, listened to briefings by senior leaders and discussed what they learned from their interactions with embassy country teams and senior military officials in Senegal, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Djibouti.



For Rear Admiral Sean Buck, a CAPSTONE participant, hearing about the specific needs and challenges of each of the countries they visited was a valuable learning experience. Buck is the commander of the Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, based in Norfolk, Va.



"I think most of us will agree that the African continent is under-studied and misunderstood by most folks," he said. "Until you get here, you don't understand how complicated the issues are on the African continent. So it's been a real eye-opener for us to gain that appreciation and understand the dynamics of what it will take to achieve the president's goals and the combatant commander's goals."



Also among the highlights was a two-hour meeting with U.S. AFRICOM Commander General Carter F. Ham, who was in Senegal at the same time as the CAPSTONE group.



According to Brigadier General Mark Quantock, Ham's meeting with the fellows set the stage for their trip, providing insight on the commander's roles and responsibilities.



"It was very helpful for us to start our trip getting his perspective -- how he works with the regions of Africa to achieve his mission set," Quantock said, adding "then we were keyed up to look for certain things as we went through the various countries." Quantock is the chief CJ-2, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.



The overseas portion of the CAPSTONE program is an important part of the curriculum, exposing the officers to issues faced by senior commanders, ambassadors, allied military leaders and senior political leaders of foreign governments. Prior to the trip, the Fellows spent 1.5 weeks touring the combatant commands in the United States, including U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and U.S. Transportation Command. The course will wrap up with a week in Washington, D.C.



At the end of the program, the officers leave with a strong network of colleagues from all services, with whom they can continue to collaborate throughout their careers.



Buck explained: "This is a great learning experience to expose us not only to a network of fellow officers from all services but also to be able to go abroad and meet with the rest of our whole-of-government partners, the interagency, and see what their challenges are in their particular roles and how we can work together."