Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jawad Dughmush | From left, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class Kianna Azimi Hashimi,...... read more read more
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Sailors, Coast Guard personnel and civilians from multiple partner nations demonstrated the impact and value of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) initiative during exercise Cutlass Express 2024.
In Djibouti, Kenya, and the Seychelles, U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) WPS facilitators Carrie Compton and Lt. Cmdr. Kristell Faustino, along with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CTJF-HOA) WPS facilitator Sgt. 1st Class James Huggins, led a series of familiarization briefs and discussions with partner nation participants about the role of women in national and international peace processes and security efforts.
“I think WPS is really important, it's made me understand the importance of having women in those positions…and the actual outcomes that women can influence or change – making peace for example,” said Seychellois WPS participant Emmanuelle Hoareau, a legal advisor who provides assistance to the Regional Coordination Operations Center located in the Seychelles. “It's important for me to realize that and do something and make a difference in that regard.”
Training partner nation personnel in three different locations presented some logistical challenges but also created immense opportunities to elevate the awareness and understanding of WPS across East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean for partners and U.S. personnel. The efforts of all three facilitators, along with a captive and dedicated audience, were critical to overall success.
After these classroom trainings and group discussions, Compton, Faustino and Huggins led a robust program of injects and scenario-based assessments and evaluations throughout Cutlass Express 2024, testing participants’ knowledge of the WPS program and their application of WPS principles into exercise evolutions.
“We incorporated WPS-themed injects into one scenario each day in each primary exercise location for us to assess, so this exercise has been the most successful for NAVAF WPS, with significant involvement of WPS equities throughout the entire process, said Compton. “This concept is still establishing a baseline, but Cutlass Express 2024 will allow us to create a better baseline of information to start building more value in subsequent iterations.”
These scenarios involved countering human trafficking and weapons smuggling. Partner nation personnel took charge of individual events, bolstering their ability to lead a team in WPS fundamentals while also enhancing their own understanding of things like visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS), search techniques and hostage identification and rescue.
“This training has been very beneficial and we have learned a lot about WPS, maritime security, and the importance of women in important defense and military positions,” said Nasteho Mouhoumed, a WPS participant from the Djiboutian Coast Guard. “Practicing together during Cutlass Express ensures we have a standardized understanding of the program and how we can use this program in our own countries.”
Incorporating tenets of WPS into Cutlass Express 2024 builds on a strong start for NAVAF’s WPS program. Their first marquee event of the calendar year saw NAVAF’s Executive Director, Juliet Beyler, lead a WPS engagement in Madagascar last month. Like in the previous WPS seminar in Madagascar, Cutlass Express WPS events continued to build on a strong foundation of empowering women in African partners’ armed forces.
“Providing assessments and tailored briefs to specific serials like VBSS from the beginning allows both trainers and scenario developers to go over those new objectives with U.S. team members and partners, providing an example of operationalizing WPS. This tailored training can lead to future inclusion in other scenarios,” said Faustino. “One of the biggest takeaways the team learned is that incorporating WPS does not take away from already planned events, it enhances them.”
The U.S. shares a common interest with African partner nations in ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation on the waters surrounding the continent, because these waters are critical for Africa’s prosperity and access to global markets.
For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.
Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the USEUCOM and USAFRICOM areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.
For more information on Cutlass Express, visit https://www.c6f.navy.mil/, https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/cutlassexpress2024, & https://twitter.com/usnavyEurope/.
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2024 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 465861 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Women make waves in East Africa’s Cutlass Express 2024, by LCDR Tyler Barker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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