Reference Publications

Africa Partnership Station: leaving lasting international footprints

All Hands, March, 2008 by Elizabeth Merriam

In Dakar, Senegal, a young orphan receives new shoes from new friends. In Limbe, Republic of Cameroon, a youth organization has a new poultry house to help kids learn a trade and improve local economic prosperity. In Accra, Ghana, a petty officer is applying the training he learned from his new friend in the U.S. Navy to prevent maritime crimes. Throughout West and Central Africa, these are the lasting "footprints" that Africa Partnership Station (APS) leaves behind as it delivers maritime safety and security, while promoting regional and worldwide stability.

Achieving common maritime goals through partnership is what the APS initiative is all about. As part of the U.S. Navy's new Cooperative Maritime Strategy, the APS deployment began November 2007 when USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) arrived off the west coast of Africa.

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"The primary purpose of APS is to provide training to various African military and civilian units so they can learn better ways to patrol their own waters," said Electrician's Mate 1st Class (SW) James Lamberson assigned to Fort McHenry. "I love going out to visit new countries, interacting with new navies, teaching them what I know about small boats, maintenance and hopefully learning things from them as well."

While APS is not the first time the U.S. Navy has conducted training in this region, it is the first to provide training and assistance with an international team that included ship riders from numerous African nations, six European military commands, as well as interagency and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"APS creates partnerships among myriad organizations that have not traditionally worked with each other in the past to achieve common interests through collaboration," said Capt. John Nowell, Commander, APS. "The nations of West and Central Africa, America, Europe, NGOs, international agencies and private industry share a common vision of regional prosperity, security, stability and peace. These goals benefit everyone and we can achieve more by working together to achieve them than by working alone."

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Nowell and his international staff of military and civilian maritime professionals are embarked aboard Fort McHenry, which constantly moves from port to port and on any given day resembles a floating maritime university.

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"The training was a pleasure, every one was friendly and we enjoyed our time on board," said Cameroon Navy Junior Lieutenant Ndongo Ethme Hermann, who received training aboard Fort McHenry during a two-week port visit to Limbe, Republic of Cameroon. "This new approach improved our skills on maritime operations and planning; visit, board, search and seizure; maintenance; and leadership management. This is something we need in stopping unlawful fishing, weapons selling and drug trafficking."

Such maritime security threats not only jeopardize long-term stability and economic development, but also create opportunities for organized crime and extremism to flourish. By increasing African capabilities and the capacity to secure their own maritime environment, APS is responding with the assistance their leaders have requested.

The training and professional exchanges-on everything from basic seamanship to more advanced response capability-are having an affect.

"We have some students we've worked with before in our class and we've asked them how the training was and how they've put it to use," said Chief Boatswain's Mate Anthony Cirillo, a U.S. Coast Guard representative to APS. "We've seen improvement in what they're doing and they've given us feedback on how it's influenced how they conduct business."

During this inaugural deployment, 14 African nations will be engaged by APS platforms. In addition to Fort McHenry, HSV 2 Swift, USS Annapolis (SSN 760), USS San Jacinto (CG 56), and P-3 detachments from Sigonella, Italy' will conduct more than two dozen visits to coastal cities in West and Central Africa. Multiple visits to the same ports not only allow trainers to assess the abilities of their students, but also builds the trust that enables more effective training.

"I think APS is a marvelous program," said the Honorable Janet Garvey, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon. "It brings a lot of skills needed in this part of the world and I think one of the best aspects of APS is the opportunity for African nationals to meet their U.S. and European counterparts. To share experiences, train together-this is what is so wonderful about APS. It gives militaries in countries like Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon a chance to learn how they can work together. I think that is the future we all want."

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Working and training alongside each other not only builds important personal relationships, but also helps identify additional areas where assistance can be provided. In Dakar, classroom time was rescheduled so APS personnel could provide on-site small boat maintenance training that helped the Senegalese Navy get their own vessels up and running.