SALIMA, Malawi - Two officers from 1st Brigade, Great Lakes Division, 75th Training Command travelled to Malawi to assist with Southern Accord 2016 in Salima, Malawi, August 1-12.
SA16 is a U.S. Army Africa-led annual, combined military exercise that brings together U.S. military personnel with African partner nations to improve readiness, promote interoperability, build capacity and strengthen partner relationships.
"The 75th Training Command supports USARAF's accord series by providing our training and experience as observer, controllers to U.N. staff officers and sharing our after action review style with other nations," said Lt. Col. Alesia Franklin, 75th TC and SA16 senior after action review (AAR) coordinator.
During academic week, Franklin and her colleague provided instructions on UN staff structures and responsibilities. Once the main command post exercise (CPX) began, they became the AAR coordination cell by providing and compiling assessments from observer, controllers.
"We are here to bring together multinational observer trainers to work with the training audience," Franklin said.
At the end, they will review all lessons learned throughout the exercise to create the final AAR. This will not only benefit this year's training audience, but will also serve as guidance for future accords in the region.
The CPX is based on a scenario in which participants lead a peacekeeping force in support of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In order to streamline operational processes throughout the exercise, the multinational partners use the U.N. military component planning process (MCPP). This is similar to the U.S. military decision making process (MDMP) in which Franklin and Cole specialize.
"MCPP is similar to MDMP, but with some differences," said Maj. Zachary Cole, an AAR coordinator with 75th TC. "One of the main focuses for the 75th TC is to see the MCPP in action, understand it, and use the gained knowledge to bolster the U.S. Army process of MDMP."
As AAR coordinators, the 75th TC duo analyzes all facets of the CPX to create their final AAR. Cole noted "tremendous collaboration" between the exercise participants, which include service members from Southern African Development Community states, European partner nations and the U.S. Army.
"I've observed soldiers from a multitude of countries working together to accomplish the exercise's training objectives," Cole said. "This exercise will undoubtedly improve individual and organizational readiness for every participant of every country."
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