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Upward Minuteman 2019 was an exercise of command of US Africa promoting the US National Guard Partnership Program on the African continent.
This was the first time that Upward Minuteman, an exercise aimed at strengthening security institutions, to promote multilateral information sharing and to develop interoperability between partner countries. It is currently a five-year program bringing together National Guard units from other states and their African partner countries.
"The purpose of the exercise was to advance the relationship between Botswana's defense forces and the US forces, build confidence and the capacity of partners, and exchange best military practices." by maintaining essential skills, "said Major General Innocent S. Phatshwane of Botswana Defense Force. Commander of the Air Force, at the closing ceremony of the exercise. "This will allow our defense force to continue to play an increasingly important role in our country through the lessons learned from this exercise."
The exercise brought together a week of training for firefighters, military police, special forces, musicians, engineers, medical personnel and members of the Botswana Defense Force for a week of training prior to a two-day training exercise to test the level of absorption of training by the BDF.
At the last event, the defense forces carried out security searches on their doorsteps, reacted to a riot simulation, reacted to a simulated car collision with two victims and ended up in a scenario involving a hijacked plane. and a fire.
Air Force Colonel Shawne Johnson, commander of the 145th Mission Support Group with the 145th Air Wing and commander of US forces for Upward Minuteman 2019, hoped that the culminating exercise would show just how much training had been fruitful. day, practical event.
"It's been great," Johnson said. "The Botswana Defense Force really likes training from my point of view, they absorb everything, they want to learn, they want to be the best defense force possible."
The firefighters were the main actors of the last training session. They responded to the scenarios of vehicle crash and fire. The North Carolina National Guard firefighters who had trained the BDF had covered the fire-fighting and rescue tactics leading up to the big event, including using hydraulic rescue tools to cut out the chbadis of the tank. a car to remove the victims.
"It worked better than expected," said the staff sergeant. Tim Layton, fire chief of the 430th Brigade of Engineers of the National Guard of North Carolina. "The team work was superb."
Layton was part of a team that went to Botswana in March 2019 to plan the formation of Upward Minuteman 2019. During this period, he sat down with the Fire Chief of the BDF power station and planned its part of the training.
On the eve of the final exercise, firefighters from the National Guard of North Carolina and the BDF spent the whole day practicing vehicle extrication techniques.
"Our BDF partners very quickly understood the techniques that we usually use and that have been highlighted today," Layton said. "They are eager to learn, they are here to help and badist the US Forces and they really love the camaraderie and teamwork we have."
Layton said he hoped the partnership could continue and lead to annual training events in the future, his soldiers having also benefited from training with the defense forces of the United States. Botswana.
"It really helped us as a unit and a team to develop our skills as instructors," Layton said. "It has helped us learn to pbad on everything that we have learned to someone who may not know our particular methods and techniques."
In addition to training activities, engineers at the 882nd Engineering Society of the North Carolina National Guard have installed a booster pump to increase water pressure, replaced a section of driving. 39; 4-inch sewer through a 6-inch pipe and installed a separation chamber for a sewer system in a place called Pink House Project, while they were simultaneously working at the barracks of the BDF warrant officers repairing sinks, replacing countertops, replacing faucets, repairing drains, installing new showerheads, replacing a water heater, replacing fixtures, replacing toilets, installing locks and repainting more than a dozen rooms .
They also repaired the panels and installed new hoops on the basketball court.
The engineers did more than repair the infrastructure of Thebaphatswa AB; they taught the BDF how to do the repairs themselves.
"A good deal is to improve the situation of the BDF, that's how I personally consider it," said Sgt. James Hastings, 1st Clbad, Construction Site Supervisor, Warrant Officer Barracks. "The BDF learns how to do maintenance work, clean the pipes, what to do in the event of a breakdown, repair it or replace it."
Soldiers and airmen were proud of the work they were doing with their BDF partners in Botswana, but for engineers, carrying out a physical project is another source of pride.
"We do a lot of practical work to make you feel very accomplished," said Sgt. Presley Kiger. "We can see what we are doing, you can see that we are making a difference, it is a great satisfaction for us to know that we can leave this task to their benefit and that if we hope to return in the future, it would be We are still here and we can see that it is underway or maybe they are adding in. We hope that they will support this project. "
Service members in Botswana not only learn from their American counterparts, they join them and sometimes become dirty and wet at their side. When a watermain ruptured during the excavation of the sewer line as part of the Pink House project, BDF's after-sales service members immediately jumped into the water and began to repair the pipeline.
"It's a very good working relationship we've created this week, they're ready to join us and get our hands dirty as we are," Kiger said. "We learn things and they learn things from us, so it was a good experience"
Although the goal of the event is to provide useful training to the BDF, one of the most important elements of the 2019 Upward Minuteman training exercise was the relations between US forces and members of the Botswana Defense Forces.
"Not only did they participate a lot in the training, but they are also very welcoming," Johnson said of the BDF. "We have developed relationships, but more importantly, we have developed friendships from all walks of life, from the US Defense Forces and Botswana."
The most obvious of these partnerships is the relationship that has developed between members of the NCNG 440th Army Band and the Botswana Defense Force Band, which has given two concerts together in addition to daily practices.
The first concert was part of a multicultural party in which groups played separately and together after a single day of rehearsal.
As part of the show, Goabaone Ramoswete, a member of the BDF group, learned to sing "Do not Stop Believing" from Journey in English and Sgt. Christian Emory with the 440th Army learned a traditional song in Tswana, the official language of Botswana.
"I learned a lot from them, it was very nice," Ramoswete said. "I loved working with them.I was very happy that she learned the song in a short time and sang it, very happy to hear her sing my tongue."
Emory said she had a day to learn the song that was the highlight of the concert.
"Working with the Botswana Defense Force Group has been great," said Emory. "They were so helpful and they taught me the words very quickly."
In addition to working with the BDF band, the 440th saxophone quartet and, later, the brbad quintet performed at Craig L. Cloud, US Ambbadador to Botswana.
Like the group, many have expressed a desire to continue their partnership with the Botswana Defense Force and to strengthen the relationship developed during Upward Minuteman 2019.
"I understand that if this exercise were successful, which I believe 100%, it will continue to do so throughout the African continent with other state partnerships from other states," Johnson said.
South Africa is to hold the next Upward Minuteman exercise in 2020.
There are currently 13 state partnerships between the United States and African countries: North Carolina and Botswana; California and Nigeria; New York and South Africa; Michigan and Liberia; Utah and Morocco; Vermont and Senegal; Wyoming and Tunisia; Kentucky and Djibouti; Mbadachusetts and Kenya; and Indiana and Niger. The North Dakota National Guard is a partner of three countries: Ghana, Togo and Benin.
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