AMBASSADOR ATTENDS CLOSING CEREMONY OF JCET

S E C R E T BAMAKO 000813

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019
TAGS: MARR ML PINR PREL PTER
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR ATTENDS CLOSING CEREMONY OF JCET
TRAINING OF MALIAN ARMY ETIA 6

Classified By: Ambassador Gillian A. Milovanovic, for reasons 1.4 (b) (
d).




1. (S) On December 10 the Ambassador participated in the
closing ceremony of a Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET)
exercise of Malian Army Echelon Tactique Interarme (ETIA) 6,
in Segou. ETIA 6 is based in Tessalit, a town in the Kidal
Region of Northern Mali. Captain Jason van Camp and Master
Sergeant James Rainville of the 10th Army Special Forces
Group led the training. The JCET ran from November
1-December 10. At present full strength, ETIA 6 numbers 142,
but because a number of troops were suffering from malaria
and medicine was lacking, fewer than 100 were able to
participate.


2. (S) Van Camp said ETIA 6 Commander, Major Felix Diallo,
was a dedicated and credible leader. The previous ETIA
Commander, who had started the JCET, was not motivated, did
not have a good attitude, and told the JCET team he had no
desire to be in the army. The inadequate commander was
replaced with the present commander, who was a far better
performer. The men were motivated when they were given
adequate food and water. This was perceived to be a problem
when training started, and the men reluctantly responded to
orders and otherwise lazed about in the shade. It turned
out, according to Rainville, that the entire unit of 142 was
only allotted 11 kilograms of meat per day, served as a stew
on grain with scraps and leftovers re-boiled for soup as
dinner. When JCET members paid for an occasional sheep to
supplement the inadequate rations, however, the troops
participated vigorously and enthusiastically in the training.
Loyalty to Mali or to the command did not appear to be an
issue.


3. (S) In terms of weapons and marksmanship, many soldiers
said they had never fired a weapon before in their life, and
there was only one rifle magazine available for each soldier.
After the training, 90 percent were effective at firing from
multiple static positions, but need additional training for
fire and maneuver exercises at the squad level. The 14
Landcruisers donated by the USG on October 20, five of which
were equipped with Harris radios, were on site for the
training. The radios, with on-off switches to prevent them
from draining vehicle batteries when shut off, functioned
well. The vehicles will move with the ETIA to Tessalit and
will be used to patrol the vast, open desert spaces near the
border with Algeria. While there was adequate fuel during
training, the fuel was of poor and uneven quality, making
operating vehicles an uncertain proposition. Access to
adequate quantities and quality of fuel remains a problem
when deployed, though USG assistance is also being directed
to this issue.


4. (S) The JCET closed with a long-range movement and a
culmination exercise in which a simulated operations order
was issued to kill or capture enemy units. The ETIA
demonstrated good basic mission planning but needs more work
in terms of company level training on offensive operations.
There was a very well-received MEDCAP in nearby Ngodila
Village. The next JCET training of ETIA 6 is scheduled for
April 2010.


MILOVANOVIC