EUTM Somalia's 3rd training session kicks off
(BRUSSELS2) The training of Somali soldiers provided by Europeans in Uganda (EUTM Somalia) reached a new milestone today with the end of the session of several modules provided by European instructors for officers. Belgian Defense Minister Pieter de Crem was on hand last week to greet the Belgian instructors. This training began on November 21 and is due to end in May 2012. A total of 251 soldiers have been trained - including 20 junior officers and 147 non-commissioned officers, 4 company commanders (Coy Comm) and 20 company command staff (Coy Staff) - with one objective: to form the backbone of a command and control system (C2) for the future Somali army under the authority of the TFG (the Transitional Federal Government). It ends in the last two months with a so-called "cohesion" phase, allowing the officers to mix with the other soldiers trained by the Ugandans (2 soldiers).
The European mission has already trained 191 soldiers during the first training session (21 junior officers and 170 non-commissioned officers), 282 during the second session (35 juniors, 247 non-commissioned officers) while the UPDF respectively trained 716 and 587 soldiers during the first and second session. In all, at the end of these three training sessions, 2400 Somali soldiers will have been trained. Their geographical horizon has widened compared to the first arrivals. " They come from everywhere now, also from Somaliland. The selection has been improved. »
« Somali recruits are enthusiastic. They take notes, they ask questions testifies a European officer to B2. " They have the will, they understand that they are the hope of the nationnot. (...) We also try to train citizens, not just soldiers, by giving them the basics of international humanitarian law, focusing on the notions of respect for life, gender equality, the soldiers' charter, etc. Universal values. This is important because they will also communicate this information to their environment, their family, …”
The European Union has deployed around 125 soldiers in Uganda - this figure fluctuates depending on the week, there are currently 117 (including 26 French).
Read also: