Photo By Chief Petty Officer John Pearl | Ghana Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Kweku Dankwa Hagan, Representative of Chief of Army...... read more read more
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ACCRA, GHANA –U.S. Special Operations Command Africa Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Col. Michael George, and SOCAFRICA Director of Operations U.S. Navy Capt. Scott Fentress, provided remarks alongside African and interagency partners to commemorate opening ceremonies for Flintlock 24 in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, May 13, 2024.
The ceremonies marked the official start of Flintlock 24, where approximately 1,300 participants from nearly 30 international and African partner nations have come together around a common objective of enhancing the security environment in the region for the benefit of its population.
Ghana Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Kweku Dankwa Hagan, Representative of Chief of Army Staff – Ghana, attended and provided remarks in Accra.
“The Ghana Armed Forces is proud to be hosting this exercise, the biggest of its kind in Africa, for the second time running,” said Hagan. “And I believe this is an indication of the healthy and enduring partnership we have strived to establish and constantly developing over the years.”
In Côte d’Ivoire, George not only acknowledged the tremendous efforts it takes to coordinate, plan, and execute an exercise the size of Exercise Flintlock, but also expressed gratitude to Ivorian partners for serving as hosts for the third consecutive year, the second iteration alongside Ghana.
“Your hospitality and commitment to key security initiatives throughout West Africa are critical,” said George. “We are proud and grateful to be your partner.”
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Jessica Davis-Ba, emphasized how the close collaboration efforts throughout the year enhanced the relationship between the U.S. and Ivoirian Special Operations Forces.
“It is through these connections that our military leaders and personnel can more effectively work together to address the many security challenges we face,” said Davis-Ba. “Our shared experiences during this time increase our interoperability and reinforce our partnerships. They allow for improved command, control, communications, and information sharing.”
Through multiple joint knowledge exchanges and training lanes, Exercise Flintlock is designed to strengthen collective security, enable greater cross-border collaboration between African partners, reinforce military bonds and trust of the civilian populace, as well as augment tactics, techniques, procedures, and skillsets to address common threats. Exercise Flintlock is U.S. Africa Command’s premier special operations forces exercise.
In Accra, U.S. and Ghanian senior leaders expressed their gratitude to their counterparts and Flintlock 24 training audience.
“We offer immense thanks to our Ghanian counterparts for their continued and valued partnership as we mark the commencement of Flintlock 24,” said Fentress. “And thank you all for your African partner led efforts in ensuring another successful engagement.”
“Permit me to express my appreciation to the exercise planners, both Ghana Armed forces partners, who are the lead and the United States Special Operations Command Africa partners,” said Hagan. “Who have been our very able enablers, for a good job done so far. Judging from the levels of preparation, I am confident we will have a good exercise.”
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2024 11:02 |
| Story ID: | 471112 |
| Location: | ACCRA, GH |
| Web Views: | 750 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
