U.S. Africa Command
August 15, 2013
US, Burundi Joint Engagement Boosts CJTF-HOA Mission
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Timothy Norris
CJTF-HOA Public Affairs
BUJUMBURA, Burund: Marines and Sailors with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Africa 13 recently completed a four-week logistics operations engagement with more than 80 Burundi National Defense Force soldiers in preparation for future deployments supporting the African Union Mission in Somalia…
The Marine task force supports Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa’s mission, which is to defeat violent extremist organizations in Somalia and East Africa by sharing best practices and building strong relationships with troop contributing countries in the region.
“First and foremost, we are here to help the Burundian soldiers to ensure…their tactical prowess…,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Nicolas DeGregorio, a team leader from Hoboken, N.J.
The engagement was divided into five sessions: communications. leadership skills, tactical combat casualty care, motor vehicle transport maintenance and warehouse logistics.
U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark Chesney, an independent duty corpsman, said the soldiers retained information well.
“They picked it up rather quickly,” he said. Chesney shared best practices about combat medical care with Burundi medics.
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