U.S. Africa Command Commander concludes visit to Angola

U. S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U. S. Africa Command, concluded a two-day visit to Angola to meet with Angolan President João Lourenço and other senior government officials May 18.

By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs , United States Africa Command Stuttgart, Germany May 26, 2022

View Gallery

Gallery contains 1 image

U. S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U. S. Africa Command, concluded a two-day visit to Angola to meet with Angolan President João Lourenço and other senior government officials May 18.

“I came to Angola for the purpose of strengthening military cooperation between our two nations. In Luanda, I found a willing partner,” said Townsend. “Our relationship with the Armed Forces of Angola is still maturing but our conversations have sharpened our focus on our mutual security concerns. U.S. AFRICOM looks forward to working with the Angolan military to develop sustainable solutions in areas like maritime security, peace-keeping operations, special operations training and the integration of simulations and more."

During his meeting with President Lourenço, Townsend, who was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Angola, Tulinabo Mushingi and U.S. Africa Command’s Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Richard Thresher, discussed how Angola and the U.S. could partner together on shared issues including maritime security, terrorism, military professionalism, and the integration of peacekeeping capabilities.

The U.S. representatives also met with senior leaders from the Angolan Ministry of Defense and Ministry of State where they discussed global and regional security cooperation with their counterparts.

“Meeting senior officials from partner nations is critical to developing our relationships,” said Thresher. “Understanding their priorities and development issues -- especially as it relates to the development of a professional senior non-commissioned officer corps, will help us understand where to best focus our partnerships efforts.

This was Townsend’s first visit to Angola.

Africa Leaders Summit

Gen. Langley visits international partners enrolled at Marine Corps University

U.S., Angola conclude inaugural military medical exercise

Gen. Langley makes first visit to Angola as commander Nov. 11

USS Hershel “Woody” Williams arrives in Luanda, Angola

Angola

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.”

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.

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.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

U.S. Africa Command Commander concludes visit to Angola

U. S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U. S. Africa Command, concluded a two-day visit to Angola to meet with Angolan President João Lourenço and other senior government officials May 18.

AFRICOM logo JPG_release thumbnail