AFRICOM commander meets Tunisian military leaders aboard the USS Eisenhower

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command met with several Tunisian military leaders aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) aircraft carrier, March 25, to discuss joint efforts to enhance Tunisia’s maritime security.



By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs United States Africa Command MEDITERRANEAN SEA Mar 26, 2021
View Gallery
fallback
Gallery contains 4 images

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command met with several Tunisian military leaders aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) aircraft carrier, March 25, to discuss joint efforts to enhance Tunisia’s maritime security.  

Townsend met with Tunisian Ministry of Defense Chief of Cabinet, Abdelhak Khemiri; Tunisian Navy Chief of Staff, Rear Adm. Adel Jehane; and Tunisian Air Force Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Hajem. Several others from U.S. Africa Command joined Townsend, including Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, U.S. Africa Command's intelligence director; Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Thresher, U.S. Africa Command's senior enlisted leader. Also attending the meeting were Vice Adm. Eugene Black, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa; Rear Adm. Scott Robertson, commander, Carrier Strike Group 2; and Gregory LoGerfo, deputy chief of mission, U.S. Embassy in Tunisia.

"The United States and Tunisia have a long and strong partnership—particularly in the military sphere. We also share concerns for security in the region,” said Townsend at the conclusion of the meeting.  

“Today’s meeting led by General Townsend is symbolic of the strong and enduring partnership between the United States and Tunisia which dates back to the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1797,” said LoGerfo. “We remain committed to advancing our shared defense cooperation goals to strengthen regional security by combatting terrorism and safeguarding Tunisian sovereignty through enhanced maritime security.” 

The delegations discussed the strong relationship with Tunisia as a key partner and a critical ally on NATO’s southern flank. 

“As allies, we work together to enhance Tunisia's security—and thus the region’s security. Today we’re focused on maritime domain awareness and maritime security concerns,” said Townsend.

“Our visit to the USS Dwight Eisenhower reflects the high level of partnership and mutual cooperation with the US Navy,” said Jehane. “The Tunisian Navy is committed to accomplishing its assigned mission of countering threats against our national interests at sea or coming from the sea and to actively participate in the international maritime community effort to make the Mediterranean Sea safe and peaceful, and therefore ensuring freedom of navigation,” he added.   

Townsend highlighted the importance of joint training and exercises to increase collective responsiveness and the ability of the two countries’ militaries to operate together. 

"By training together we increase our interoperability with international partners while maintaining a high state of readiness to address mutual security challenges and goals."

Tunisia is a major non-NATO ally, and serves as host or major contributor to U.S. Africa Command exercises such as African Lion and Phoenix Express. Tunisia will serve as a satellite location for African Lion in June 2021. African Lion is a joint, all-domain, multi-national exercise designed to counter malign activity and increase interoperability between U.S., African, and international partners to defend the theater from adversary military aggression.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is in the area conducting flight operations to support maritime security in international waters alongside our allies and partners.

More in Partnerships
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more
US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat
NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.
Read more
36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels
The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.
Read more
More in Partnerships
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more
US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat
NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.
Read more
36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels
The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.
Read more
More in Partnerships
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more
US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat
NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.
Read more
36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels
The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.
Read more