Seychelles takes part in command post exercise |26 March 2022
Delegates at the command post exercise
Delegates from Seychelles are currently taking part in a multidimensional command post exercise organised by the Eastern Africa Standby Force code named ‘Mashariki Salaam III’ at the Kenya Commercial Bank Leadership Centre in Karen, Nairobi.
Seychelles’ delegation comprises one military officer from the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) and seven civilians from the civil society sector and later during the exercise one journalist from Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) will also join the Seychelles team.
Seychelles has actively participated in various other field training and command post exercises conducted by the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) in the past. In December, 2021 a delegation from the EASF secretariat met with President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House and during the meeting the head of state emphasised on the need for the EASF to maintain and enhance its maritime capabilities.
The EASF was established in 2004 with the main objectives of discharging in a timely manner the functions of maintenance of peace and security, through a regional conflict prevention, management and resolution capability to respond effectively to crisis within the Eastern Africa region and across the African continent as may be mandated by the African Union Peace and Security Council.
Over 200 participants from 10 of the East African countries are participating in the CPX aimed at assessing the EASF structures and member states’ capability in planning, preparation and execution of multidimensional peace support operations.
The opening ceremony was conducted on Monday March 21, 2021 by Chief of Defence Staff of the Republic of Kenya, General Robert K. Kibochi. In his keynote speech, General Kibochi thanked EASF member states for availing exercise participants to take part in the peace-keeping exercise, despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He underscored the importance of the CPX in exercising EASF structures in the background of a multinational, multidimensional and multidisciplinary mission headquarters (MHQs) together with force headquarters (FHQs) staff in planning a complex peace support operation.
According to Rajelle Barbe, member of the media cell in the command post exercise, she is expecting to learn more about the functions of civilians in a peace support mission and this will help to enhance her understanding on how media operates in a conflict zone. The CPX will end on April 1, 2022.
Press release from EASF