UGANDA: ACOTA TRAINING STRATEGY CONFERENCE SHAPES PEACE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000778 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MOPS MARR KPKO UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: ACOTA TRAINING STRATEGY CONFERENCE SHAPES PEACE SUPPORT OPERATIONS STRATEGY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ugandan military leaders and planners and African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) Program officials and training specialists joined a four-day Training Strategy Conference (TSC) in Jinja, Uganda, to develop a strategy for near and mid-term Peace Support Operations (PSO) training and equipping. Brigadier General Silver Kayemba, Chief of Training and Operations for the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) led a team of 30 military planners and ACOTA facilitators to develop the strategy. The program calls for May 2007 commencement of ACOTA PSO training for the next UPDF "Battle Group" of 1500 peacekeepers slated to deploy to Somalia, as well as expeditious ACOTA equipping for each peacekeeper. The UPDF strategy calls for ACOTA training and equipping for future UPDF Somalia-bound battle groups, and immediate commencement of ACOTA's "train the trainer" program to enable Uganda to achieve full self-sufficiency in PSO training within 18 months. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Uganda's PSO Training Strategy Conference (TSC). At the UPDF Jinja Command and Staff College during April 24-27, 2007, UPDF Brigadier General Kayemba led a team of 25 UPDF military planners and five ACOTA training specialists to develop a detailed strategy for UPDF PSO training and equipping activities through 2009. Department of State ACOTA Program and Policy Coordinator Chip Beck joined General Kayemba in opening and setting the agenda for the conference. The four-day conference resulted in the drafting of a UPDF PSO Strategic Training Action Plan to be submitted to the UPDF Land Forces Commander, Lieutenant General Katumba Wamala. The strategy calls for ACOTA PSO training for the next and succeeding UPDF battle groups deploying to Somalia and immediate commencement of ACOTA "train the trainer" training for 40 UPDF personnel. The strategy also calls for provision of training support equipment and limited individual-soldier equipping for the UPDF peacekeepers undertaking the training through ACOTA. -------------- -------------- BRITISH PEACE SUPPORT TEAM'S EASBRIG PRESENTATION -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On April 24, British Peace Support Team (East Africa) Commander Colonel Andrew Mason provided a briefing that proposed UPDF long-term development (by 2010-2012) of a battle group to form 
a maneuver element of the East Africa Brigade (EASBRIG) of the Africa Standby Force (ASF),along with contingents from Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. The briefing provided an approach to long term PSO strategy for the UPDF. General Kayemba's responded that the UPDF's primary and immediate focus was on Somalia, but he noted that the British proposal provided a reference point for the UPDF's long-term thinking. -------------- -------------- ACOTA TRAINIGN FOR UPDF SOMALIA-BOUND PEACEKEEPERS -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) ACOTA training for the next UPDF contingent that will deploy to Somalia, including a battle group headquarters (PSO Force Headquarters) and two battalions that will maneuver elements for the battle group, will be conducted at the UPDF's Singho Military Base during May 21 - July 27, 2007. The strategy also calls for ACOTA PSO training and limited equipping for future Somalia-bound UPDF Battle Groups. All ACOTA training will include PSO command and staff training for the Battle Group, PSO command and staff training for the two battalion commanders and staffs of the battle group, and PSO peacekeeping skills training for every soldier. The ACOTA training will be tailored to include PSO training for the attached elements of the battle group, to include armor, engineer, signal, intelligence, and medical units. Further, ACOTA will include specific areas of emphasis requested by the UPDF planners, to include military operations in urban areas, counter-improvised explosive device operations, counter-sniper operations, counter-suicide bomber operations, and a Somalia area analysis. ACOTA PSO "train the trainer" training will be conducted concurrently with all PSO training, with the goal of enabling Uganda to achieve a fully indigenous PSO training capacity by 31 December ¶2008. -------------- UPDF SOMALIA DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) General Kayemba stated that the decision about when to deploy the next battle group to Somalia has not been made definitely, but that it could occur as early as August 2007. General Kayemba lamented that additional contingents of peacekeepers from other countries have not deployed to Somalia as Uganda had "hoped for and expected". -------------- KAMPALA 00000778 002 OF 002 COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Plans for training and equipping Uganda's next battalion for Somalia are off to a good start. We will follow up with senior military officers on whether or not the UPDF Training Action Plan was approved by Lt.Gen. Wamala and with BG Kayemba for the names of the senior officers for the Leahy Human Rights vetting process.