Brigadier General Stephen Tumwesigye Kashure and the Chief Evaluator of the coming Command Post Exercise “Ushirikiano Imara 2023, opened the pre-mission training for the Uganda Contingent at the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy (NCOA), Jinja.
This year’s Command Post Exercise will be taking place in Musanze, Rwanda.
Command Post Exercise “Ushirikiano Imara” is an annual event that demonstrates the East African Community (EAC)’s commitment to the enhancement of regional peace and security.
The exercise is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional, and multi-cultural exercise that is held under the EAC Partner States Protocol on Cooperation in Defence Affairs.
Brig Gen Kashure said that the different roles involved in this training are meant to prepare the participants to perform effectively.
“We are not in this just for fun or mere social interaction. We, as a country and region, are in this process for the eventual political regional integration.”
He observed that exercises like this provide for conscious, orderly and systematic planning of the long-term survival of East Africa and called upon East African rational actors to open up channels of communication and involve all stakeholders when important decisions, especially those involving planning for security that guarantees socio-economic transformation.
He implored the participants to keep calm under any circumstances and cooperate with other countries during the exercise.
“I will have failed in my duty as a senior leader if I don’t emphasize discipline. Remember discipline is the fulcrum that drives any activity,” he added.
The Main Objective of the exercise is to practice as the EAC Partner States Armed Forces and other stakeholders in planning and conducting Peace Support Operations (PSO), Counter Terrorism, Counter Piracy and Disaster Management to enhance their capacity in combating complex security challenges.
Seven East African Community Partner States will participate in the exercise.
These include; the Republic of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania