From July 7 to 28, the Embassy’s Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) organized a series of trainings for FARDCs at the Kitona base in the Bas-Congo province. The program, called “Nkosi Mutane”, or “Lion Rouge II”, consisted of a series of trainings in various areas such as human rights, rule of law, logistics, ammunition storage and ethical leadership for chaplains. FARDC women have also been trained in lifesaving techniques by members of the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program team. The Embassy’s Office of Security Cooperation has also engaged in social and cultural activities with a book donation to a primary school in Muanda, a medical donation to the Kitona military hospital and US army cadets’ engagements with Muanda youth.
In his closing remarks on July 28th, the Chief of the OSC Michael McCullough noted that Nkosi Mutane demonstrated the determination and commitment of the American government as a partner and supporter of the DRC’s security sector reform objectives. ”It is also a program that illustrates the FARDC’s ability to commit with a high level of professionalism and the potential of the Kitona base for a greater cooperation between our two countries”, he added.
According to Sergeant Major Darrin Bohn, AFRICOM’s representative at the event, Nkosi Mutane has doubled in size since last year, with 55 trainers engaged in courses and 500 members of the FARDC trained. DILS (the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies) teams were involved in the trainings with NAVAF (Naval Forces Africa), USAFE (US Air Force in Europe-Air Force Africa); Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) teams.
The first edition of this program was organized from September 10 to 27, 2013.
