www.africom.mil



TRANSCRIPT:
Ripka,
Ward
at
Uganda
NCO
Academy

Describe
Importance
of
Education
for
Military

Professionals



By
Command
Sergeant
Major
Mark
Ripka

and

General
William
Ward
Commander,
U.S.
Africa
Command



JINJA,
Uganda,
Apr
11,
2008
—
Training
tells
military
people
what
to
think,
but
as

they
mature
in
their
careers,
military
education
tells
them
how
to
think,
U.S.
Africa

Command's
 senior
 enlisted
 advisor
 told
 students
 during
 a
 visit
 April
 11,
 2008,
 to

Uganda's
recently
created
Noncommissioned
Officers
Academy.



Command
 Sergeant
 Major
 Mark
 Ripka
 accompanied
 General
 William
 Ward,

AFRICOM
 commander,
 on
 an
 April
 9‐11
 visit
 to
 Uganda.
 Their
 itinerary
 included

addressing
the
Uganda
Peoples
Defence
Force
NCO
Academy
at
Gadafi
Barracks
in

Jinja,
near
the
shore
of
Lake
Victoria.



"We
 have
 something
 in
 common,"
 Ripka
 told
 NCO
 Academy
 students.
 "You
 and
 I

wear
the
cloth
of
our
nation.
This
is
the
cloth
that
represents
our
nation.
And
that's
a

special
bond
between
soldiers,
sailors,
airmen,
and
Marines."



Professional
education
helps
to
strengthen
leaders,
Ripka
said.
"Because
if
we
grow

professional
leaders,
not
only
do
you
represent
you
defense
force,
but
you
represent

your
nation
and
you
represent
all
of
Africa."



In
 the
 U.S.
 military,
 experienced
 NCOs
 traditionally
 help
 to
 mentor
 younger

commissioned
officers
to
make
them
more
capable
leaders,
Ripka
explained.



Ripka
said
the
U.S.
military
appreciates
opportunities
to
train
with
African
nations.

"What's
more
important,
I
think,
is
what
you
teach
us,"
Ripka
added.
"Because
you

teach
 us
 an
 awful
 lot.
 You
 teach
 us
 about
 life.
 You
 teach
 us
 about
 respect
 for
 all

people."



By
 working
 together
 over
 sustained
 periods
 of
 time,
 "we're
 teammates
 with
 you,

we're
partnering
with
you,"
Ripka
said.
"To
me,
that's
a
lasting
relationship.
Because

one
day
it
may
come
that
I
have
to
put
my
life
in
your
hands.
And
I
trust
you,
and
I

have
confidence
in
you
that
when
and
if
that
day
ever
comes,
that
we
will
partner

and
we
will
be
together.
Because
that
what
we
who
wear
the
cloth
of
our
nation
are

all
about."



Ward
 also
 spoke
 to
 the
 students
 and
 applauded
 Ugandan
 military
 leaders
 for

establishing
 an
 NCO
 Academy
 to
 provide
 professional
 education
 for
 enlisted

professionals.



"I
wish
you
all
the
best
to
you
and
your
families
as
we
together
work
to
help
bring

stability
and
peace
to
this
part
of
Africa,
this
region,"
Ward
said,
"and
by
doing
that,

causing
and
hoping
to
cause
development
to
occur
and
stability
to
occur."



Ward
 also
 thanked
 Ugandans
 for
 contributing
 peacekeepers
 to
 the
 African
 Union

Mission
to
Somalia.
The
U.S.
military
has
assisted
in
training
and
providing
logistics

for
peacekeeper
deployments
in
Somalia.
"We
are
able
to
come
forward
and
provide

some
assistance
with
that,"
Ward
said.
"That's
what
partnership
is
about."



Following
is
a
transcript
of
Ripka
and
Ward's
remarks:



Remarks
of

Command
Sergeant
Major
Mark
Ripka

and

General
William
Ward,
Commander,
U.S.
Africa
Command



at
the
Uganda
Noncommissioned
Officers
Academy

Gadafi
Barracks

Jinja,
Uganda



Friday,
April
11,
2008





COMMAND
SERGEANT
MAJOR
MARK
RIPKA:
Well,
it's
an
honor.
It's
an
honor
to
be

here
in
this
camp,
which
is
a
very
historic
camp
for
the
Ugandan
People's
Defence

Force.
Not
only
is
it
a
historic
camp,
but
you
are
now
training
in
this
historic
camp

and
you
are
a
part
of
the
first
centralized,
noncommissioned
officers
academy,
both

a
junior
course
and
a
senior
course
for
the
Uganda
People's
Defence
Force.
And,
for

that,
you
are
paving
the
way
for
others
to
come
behind
you.
And
I
think
you
deserve

a
round
of
applause
so
thank
you
very
much.



(Applause.)



Of
 course,
 all
 of
 this
 would
 not
 be
 possible
 without
 the
 leadership,
 our
 officer

leadership
and
our
noncommissioned
officer
leadership,
to
make
this
force
what
it

is
and
what
it's
going
to
be
in
the
future
for
those
that
come
after
me.
So
we
thank

the
 instructors
 because
 what
 we're
 doing
 is
 we're
 growing
 this
 Ugandan
 People's

Defence
 Force
 for
 the
 future.
 And
 these
 are
 the
 future
 leaders,
 noncommissioned

officer
 leaders,
 of
 our
 future
 in
 the
 defense
 forces.
 So
 what
 a
 proud
 day,
 what
 a

proud
 day!
 Thanks
 for
 allowing
 General
 Ward
 and
 me
 to
 be
 a
 part
 of
 your
 team

today.
And
that's
what
we
want
to
be.
We
want
to
be
partners.
And
we
want
to
be

teammates.
And
so
thanks
so
much.



(Applause.)



And
it's
very,
very
special
because
this
morning
General
Ward
addressed
the
Senior

Command
 and
 Staff
 College.
 And,
 yet,
 he
 comes
 out
 here
 today
 because
 General

Ward
 understands
 the
 importance
 of
 the
 roles,
 responsibilities,
 duties,
 and

authorities
 that
 noncommissioned
 officers
 bring
 to
 a
 professional
 defense
 forces.

And
that's
important.



Last
week,
just
last
week,
I
met
with
a
defense
‐‐
your
defense
force
sergeant
major,

who
 is
 going
 to
 the
 United
 States
 Army
 Sergeants
 Major
 Academy
 in
 the
 United

States.
I
mean,
this
is
a
UPDF
sergeant
major
attending
a
course
that's
going
to
bring

back
even
more
insight
to
how
we
train
and
educate
our
noncommissioned
officers.

So
this
is
real
‐‐
this
is
exciting.
This
is
exciting.



Even
our
own
force
today
in
the
United
States
continues
to
change.
And
we
have
had

marked
improvements
in
the
training
and
education
of
our
own
noncommissioned

officer
 corps
 in
 the
 United
 States
 today.
 And
 it
 takes
 a
 long
 time.
 We
 have
 to
 be

patient
as
we
do
this.
So
thanks.
And
I
also
want
to
say
a
special
thanks
to
the
NCO

academy
 commandant,
 Lieutenant
 Colonel
 Kaganda
 for
 leading
 this
 type
 of

institution.
Thank
you
very
much,
sir,
what
a
pleasure.



(Applause.)



Let
 me
 share
 a
 couple
 of
 ‐‐
 let
 me
 share
 just
 some
 thoughts
 with
 you
 about

noncommissioned
officers.
I
guess
you
would
say
that
when
a
sergeant
major
stands

up,
his
job
is
really
to
share
some
thoughts
and
to
share
some
perspectives,
if
you

will.
 So
 let
 me
 give
 you
 some
 of
 Ripka's
 perspectives,
 if
 you
 will,
 on

noncommissioned
officer
leadership.



First,
 let
 me
 say
 that
 I'm
 proud
 of
 you,
 I'm
 proud
 of
 your
 accomplishments,
 I'm

proud
 of
 your
 service
 to
 the
 country.
 We
 have
 something
 in
 common.
 You
 and
 I

wear
the
cloth
of
our
nation.
This
is
the
cloth
that
represents
our
nation.
And
that's
a

special
bond
between
soldiers,
sailors,
airmen,
and
Marines.
Now,
in
our
current,
as

we
represent
United
States
Africa
Command,
the
newest
unified
command
from
the

United
States,
we
have
a
big
team
and
I
will
let
General
Ward,
when
he
talks,
to
talk

about
a
little
bit
of
noncommissioned
officers,
but
give
you
a
perspective
on
the
big

picture
 of
 United
 States
 Africa
 Command
 as
 well.
 So
 I'll
 stay
 with
 the
 perspective

parts
here.



I
would
tell
you
that
you're
not
here
by
accident.
You
are
not
here
by
accident
going

through
this
first
academy
force.
You
were
personally
selected
and
picked
because

of
who
you
are
and
what
you
do.
And
that's
very
important.
We
can
give
you
and
the

forces
can
give
you
all
of
the
training
and
education
that
we
can,
but
we
can't
change

what's
here
in
the
heart
because
it's
what
in
the
heart
that
makes
a
leader
a
leader.

And
 so
 when
 we
 talk
 about
 building
 professional
 leaders,
 when
 we
 talk
 about

building
 professional
 leaders
 ‐‐
 and
 a
 sergeant
 major
 has
 always
 got
 to
 have
 a

chalkboard
because
he's
a
teacher
‐‐
and
so
we're
going
to
use
the
chalkboard
for
a

little
instruction
this
afternoon.
Okay,
so
please
allow
me
to
use
the
chalkboard.



And
so
what
we
do
is
we
talk
about
professional
leaders.
That's
you,
okay?
And
I've

got
‐‐
I'm
not
a
mathematician,
but
I
do
like
kind
of
formulas
because
I
like
to
picture

things
in
kind
of
formula‐perspective,
if
you
will.
And
so,
as
we
look
at
how
we
grow

professional
leaders,
okay,
there's
really
probably
‐‐
probably
you've
got
to
hit
what

we
 call
 three
 pillars
 of
 professional
 leadership
 in
 how
 you
 grow
 our
 leaders.
 And,

interestingly
 enough,
 the
 same
 way
 we
 grow
 our
 commissioned‐officer
 leaders
 is

the
same
way
we
grow
our
noncommissioned‐officer
leaders.



First
of
all,
you
have
to
send
them
to
what
we
call
the
institution,
or
what
is
really

training
 plus
 education.
 Okay,
 now,
 that's
 very
 interesting
 because
 if
 we
 were
 to

draw
the
picture
and
make
a
picture
out
of
this,
what
we
would
be
is
something
a

little
bit
like
this.
And
this
is
the
beginning
of
your
career
right
here.
Okay,
this
is
the

beginning
 of
 your
 career.
 And
 we'll
 take
 this
 block
 and
 we'll
 call
 this
 the
 training

block
and
we'll
call
this
the
education
block.



And
at
the
very
beginning,
when
you
come
into
the
defense
force,
what
we
have
to

do
is
we
have
to
make
sure
that
you
are
trained
in
your
competency,
whatever
that

may
 be
 in
 your
 defense
 force,
 whether
 you're
 an
 infantry
 man,
 an
 artillery
 man,

supply,
whatever
it
is.
So
we
spend
a
vast
amount
of
time
training
you
and
very
little

time
educating
you.
But
as
you
progress
through
your
career
in
a
leadership
and
you

begin
 to
 assume
 leadership
 responsibilities,
 you
 will
 see
 more
 and
 more
 of
 that
 is

education.



So
 we've
 got
 to
 blend
 this
 thing
 of
 military
 training
 versus
 military
 education

because
 training
 tells
 us
 what,
 what
 to
 think
 or
 how
 to
 think,
 right?
 Training
 says

what
 to
 think,
 but
 education
 tells
 us
 how
 to
 think,
 how
 to
 approach
 things

differently,
 a
 little
 broader
 perspective.
 So
 the
 institution
 is
 very,
 very
 important.

You're
 sitting
 in
 the
 institution
 today.
 This
 is
 a
 very
 important
 part
 of
 becoming
 a

professional
leader
in
the
defense
forces.



The
 second
 thing
 ‐‐
 and
 I'll
 put
 that
 little
 plus
 sign
 up
 there
 ‐‐
 are
 what
 we
 call

operational
assignments.
And
we'll
just
call
it
experience.
And
so
that's
‐‐
now
what

you
do
is
you
take
what
you
learn
in
this
academy
and
you
can't
leave
it
here.
What

you've
 got
 to
 do
 is
 take
 what
 you
 learn
 in
 the
 academy
 and
 go
 apply
 it
 out
 in
 the

defense
force.
And
you
gain
leadership.
You
can't
learn
everything
about
leadership

sitting
in
the
academy;
you
have
to
experience
leadership.



And,
oh,
by
the
way,
you're
going
to
make
mistakes.
We
all
make
mistakes.
And
so

what
we
have
to
when
we
make
mistakes
as
NCOs,
first
of
all,
you've
got
to
kind
of

say,
hey,
look,
it's
okay.
All
right,
let's
take
a
look
at
it.
Let's
have
an
after‐action
kind

of
talk.
Let's
talk
about
what
happened,
why
did
it
happen,
and
how
we
are
going
to

do
 it
 better
 the
 next
 time.
 That's
 what
 leaders
 do.
 That's
 what
 good,
 professional

leaders
 do.
 And
 you
 gain
 experience
 through
 that.
 You
 probably
 gain
 very
 little

experience
 if
 you
 do
 everything
 right,
 okay,
 or
 if
 somebody
 is
 telling
 you
 you're

doing
everything
right.
Do
you
see
what
I
mean?
Okay,
so
this
is
a
great
point.



The
third
part
of
this
is
how
we
build
this
professional
leader
is
through
self‐study,

books,
 it's
 reading
 books
 because
 this
 institution,
 the
 noncommissioned
 officer

academy,
to
be
the
center
of
excellence
that
we
want
the
center
of
excellence
to
be,

okay,
yes,
you'll
come
here;
yes,
you'll
go
back
out
to
your
defense
force
and
you'll

be
 a
 noncommissioned
 officer
 leader
 out
 there.
 But
 the
 education
 can't
 stop.
 You

need
 to
 continue
 to
 seek
 books
 and
 other
 leadership
 books
 in
 order
 to
 grow
 as
 a

professional
leader.



So
what
you're
doing
is
you're
sitting
in
one
part
of
this,
of
how
to
be
a
professional

leader.
And
so
what
do
we
do?
What
really
do
noncommissioned
officers
do?
Well,

first
of
all,
we
train,
we
are
the
primary
trainers.
We
primarily
train
our
soldiers
and

our
sailors,
airmen,
and
marines.
And
we,
in
some
cases,
from
a
U.S.
perspective,
we

help
train
and
mentor
our
officers
as
well.
Because
if
you
take
a
look
at
some
of
this,

if
you
take
a
look
at
some
of
the
experiences
as
we
look
at
this,
if
you
look
a
look
at

the
 experiences
 of
 our
 noncommissioned
 officers
 and
 when
 a
 young,
 brand‐new

platoon
leader,
platoon
commander,
everybody
knows
that,
right?
Everybody
knows

platoon
 leader,
 platoon
 commander.
 When
 a
 brand‐new
 platoon
 leader,
 platoon

commander
comes
in,
he's
got
less
than
one
year.
But
a
platoon
sergeant
has
many

years.
 We'll
 say
 a
 platoon
 sergeant
 has
 eight
 to
 10
 years
 of
 experience:
 training,

education,
experience.



So
 it's
 very
 important
 that
 this
 experienced
 noncommissioned
 officer,
 a
 senior

noncommissioned
 officer,
 coaches,
 teaches,
 and
 trains
 our
 officers
 as
 well
 as
 our

young
soldiers
and
our
junior
noncommissioned
officers.
Does
that
make
sense?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



Yeah.
 Now,
 that
 happens
 to
 kind
 of
 cross
 a
 line
 later
 on.
 In
 fact,
 a
 company

commander,
okay,
a
company
commander
normally
has
anywhere
between
eight
or

six
 to
 eight
 years
 in,
 sometimes
 less,
 sometimes
 more.
 But
 a
 first
 sergeant
 in
 the

company,
 a
 company
 first‐sergeant,
 he
 may
 be
 a
 company
 warrant
 officer
 in
 the

defense
 force,
 but
 a
 company
 first‐sergeant
 normally
 has
 anywhere
 from
 12
 to
 14

years
 in.
 And
 so
 the
 company
 first‐sergeant
 is
 still
 coaching
 and
 teaching
 and

mentoring
company
commanders
to
even
make
them
better
leaders
and,
of
course,

responsible
 for
 training
 the
 enlisted
 soldiers
 as
 well
 as
 the
 noncommissioned

officers.



And
this
line
kind
of
crosses.
Here's
the
officer
line
and
kind
of
here's
the
NCO
line.

And
 pretty
 soon
 it
 crosses.
 And
 pretty
 soon,
 like
 General
 Ward,
 I
 mean,
 Sergeant

Major
Ripka
is
not
going
to
coach,
teach,
and
mentor
General
Ward,
okay?
He's
got

all
kinds
of
time
and
he's
met
every
bit
of
these
things
here.
But,
at
the
same
time,

General
Ward
looks
to
Command
Sergeant
Major
Ripka
for
certain
things
as
we
look

at
 my
 role
 and
 responsibilities
 and
 duties
 and
 authorities
 at
 United
 States
 Africa

Command.



And
so
he
helps
me
and
I
help
him,
and
he
provides
a
perspective
that
I
just
can't
get

from
 anywhere
 else.
 Now,
 especially
 on
 our
 time,
 we've
 even
 got
 many
 of
 our

governmental
interagency
wonderful
people
with
us.
We
have
DOD
[Department
of

Defense]
civilians.
So
we
get
a
broad
perspective
at
United
States
Africa
Command.



So
this
is
what
it's
all
about
and
this
is
what
you're
after.
You're
after
professional

leadership
because
if
we
grow
professional
leaders,
not
only
do
you
represent
your

defense
force,
but
you
represent
your
nation
and
you
represent
all
of
Africa.
And
so

it's
 important
 to
 understand
 all
 the
 pieces
 of
 this
 puzzle
 that's
 going
 to
 take
 place

throughout
your
career.
And
so
I
look
forward
to
that.



And
 I
 would
 tell
 you
 that,
 to
 be
 quite
 frank,
 we
 ‐‐
 where
 we
 can
 ‐‐
 through
 our

wonderful
 ambassador
 and
 the
 embassy,
 we
 are
 trying
 to
 bring
 some
 additional

kind
of
resources
for
you
so
that
we
can
be
a
part,
and
team,
and
partner
with
the

NCO
academy.
And
we
look
forward
to
it
‐‐
(applause).



And,
you
know,
what's
interesting
is
anytime
that
we're
‐‐
especially
me
‐‐
when
I'm

around
you,
or
our
military‐to‐military
training
where,
if
we
do
bring
an
instructor

here,
what's
more
important,
I
think,
is
what
you
teach
us,
because
you
teach
us
an

awful
lot.
You
teach
us
about
life.
You
teach
us
about
respect
for
all
people.
And
so

that
 relationship
 that
 we
 build
 with
 you
 when
 we're
 with
 you,
 we're
 among
 you,

we're
 teammates
 with
 you,
 we're
 partnering
 with
 you,
 to
 me,
 that's
 a
 lasting

relationship.
Because
one
day
it
may
come
that
I
have
to
put
my
life
in
your
hands.

And
I
trust
you
and
I
have
confidence
in
you
that
when
and
if
that
day
ever
comes,

that
we
will
partner
and
we
will
be
together.
Because
that's
what
we
that
wear
the

cloth
of
our
nation
are
all
about.



And
 so
 it's
 a
 trust;
 it's
 a
 confidence;
 it's
 a
 reliability
 factor
 where
 we
 rely
 on
 each

other
to
help
us
help
each
other.
And
so,
thanks.
Thanks
for
what
you
do.
Thanks
for

your
professionalism.
Thanks
for
paving
this
path.
And
as
this
course
continues
and

as
you
continue
to
write
I
would
think
some
type
of
summary
of
the
course,
you
will

help
 the
 instructors,
 you
 will
 help
 the
 leadership
 of
 the
 course
 to
 even
 create
 a

better
 course
 for
 tomorrow.
 And
 that's
 what
 we're
 all
 about,
 is
 creating
 a
 better

institutional
 experience
 where
 those
 that
 come
 after
 us
 get
 better
 training
 and

better
education.
You're
the
first.
What
an
honor
and
a
privilege
it
is
to
be
the
first.



And
 so,
 thanks.
Thanks
 for
 allowing
me
to
come
 in
and
 spend
 a
couple
 of
 minutes

with
a
perspective
for
you,
talking
about
what
professional
leadership
is
all
about.

And
 I'll
 tell
 you,
 I'm
 thrilled
 to
 death.
 I
 am
 just
 thrilled
 that
 General
 Ward,
 I'm

excited
that
General
Ward
wants
to
come
and
spend
some
time
kind
of
talking
to
the

noncommissioned
 officers
 of
 the
 Uganda
 People's
 Defence
 Force.
 To
 me,
 this
 is
 it.

You've
got
the
big
guy.
Okay,
you've
got
the
big
guy,
all
right?
(Laughter.)
And
so
let

me
sit
down
and
let's
bring
General
Ward
up
and
have
him
share
some
perspectives

as
well.



(Applause.)



GENERAL
WILLIAM
WARD:
Stand
up,
everybody.
There
you
go,
there
you
go.
Shake

it
out
a
little
bit.
There
you
go.
Feel
better
now?



(Chorus
of
"yeah.")



Okay,
go
ahead
and
sit
back
down.



First,
 you
 all
 over
 here
 on
 this
 side,
 I'm
 here
 because
 what
 you're
 doing
 to
 cause

your
teammates
to
be
as
good
as
they
can
be
is
important.
That's
why
you're
here.

And
 I'm
 here
 to
 reinforce
 that
 I
 think
 what
 you're
 doing
 is
 real
 important,
 too.
 So

keep
it
up
and
do
it
well
because
it
matters
more
than
you
ever
know.
Got
it?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



I
got
it,
too.



(Applause.)



No,
no,
but
seriously,
I
know
that
you're
doing
it
because
you
too
know
that
it's
the

right
 thing,
 it's
 the
 best
 thing
 for
 your
 army,
 for
 your
 forces,
 and
 I
 agree
 with
 it.
 I

agree
with
it.
(Inaudible.)



Now,
how
are
we
doing?



(Chorus
of
"fine.")



Doing
okay?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



Really?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



Okay,
now,
are
you
really
doing
okay?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



All
right.
I
won't
repeat
what
the
command
sergeant
major
said
because
everything

he
said
I
agree
with.
But
I'm
going
to
add
two
messages
for
you.
The
first
message

talks
about
why
I'm
here
in
this
role
as
the
commander
of
this
U.S.
Africa
Command,

the
fact
that
it
has
been
created
to
recognize
this
partnership
that
we
have
with
the

nations
of
Africa
who
want
to
partner
with
us,
that
we
have
with
the
institutions
and

organizations
of
the
continent
that
are
concerned
about
stability
and
security
across

the
 continent.
 Africa
 Command
 is
 here
 to
 call
 what
 we
 do
 as
 a
 Department
 of

Defense,
the
United
States
of
America,
in
helping
our
partnered
nations
to
be
more

capable
 in
 providing
 for
 your
 own
 security.
 And,
 now,
 through
 a
 single
 command,

U.S.
 Africa
 Command,
 the
 work
 of
 the
 Department
 of
 Defense
 in
 providing
 that

assistance
is
consolidated.



So
what
we
have
done
is
reorganized
ourselves,
just
like
you
are
reorganizing
your

instruction.
 You
 developed
 this
 fine
 NCO‐academy
 program.
 We
 are
 reorganizing

ourselves
in
the
Department
of
Defense
so
that
when
we
work
with
African
nations

from
the
north,
south,
east,
west
and
here
in
the
central,
or
in
the
central
part
of
the

continent,
 as
 opposed
 to
 having
 three
 different
 commands
 that
 are
 doing
 that
 all

over
 the
 place,
 one
 command
 that
 everyone
 knows
 they
 can
 come
 to
 if
 there
 are

things
 that
 we
 can
 do
 to
 help
 you
 have
 more
 capacity
 in
 providing
 for
 your
 own

security.



And
some
of
that's
been
done.
I
mean,
I
don't
know,
some
of
you
may
have
been
‐‐

anyone
 here
 recently
 came
 back
 from
 Somalia
 in
 the
 last
 iteration?
 No,
 well,
 you

have
some
of
your
teammates
in
Somalia
today.
Some
have
been
there
last
year.
As

we
 did
 the
 things
 that
 we
 did
 through
 the
 offices
 of
 the
 ambassador,
 the
 defense

team
 that's
 here
 working
 with
 the
 Department
 of
 State
 to
 help
 provide
 you
 the

wherewithal,
the
capacity,
the
added
capacity
to
go
forward
and
do
those
missions,

the
logistical
support,
equipment.
It's
that
type
of
thing
that
we
hope
to
be
able
to
do

where
 you
 have
 signed
 up
 and
 said,
 Hey,
 we
 as
 Africans
 want
 to
 take
 care
 of
 our

own
situation.
But,
in
some
cases
and
from
time
to
time,
we
need
some
assistance.

We
need
a
little
bit
of
help
from
time
to
time.



So
 we
 want
 to
 be
 here
 to
 provide
 for
 that
 assistance
 when
 we
 can
 and
 where
 the

policy
of
our
nation
says
we
want
to
support
that.
That's
the
first
thing.



The
second
thing
has
to
do
with
you
being
right
here.
And
that's
the
point
that
the

sergeant
 major
 has
 so
 helpfully
 talked
 to
 as
 it
 pertains
 to
 your
 professional

development
because
as
you
become
better
at
what
you
do,
you
are
also
providing

in
a
better
way
for
the
welfare
of
your
entire
command.
And
whose
responsibility
is

that?
Well,
it's
all
of
our
responsibilities:
officers,
noncommissioned
officers
taking

care
of
the
men
and
women
of
our
forces
and
then
growing
them
to
be
the
next
and

best
generation
of
leadership
that
we
can
make
them.



And
 in
 order
 to
 do
 that,
 all
 of
 require
 our
 own
 professional
 development.
 So
 I

applaud
you;
I
applaud
the
government
of
Uganda.
I
applaud
the
decision
that
was

made
 to
 create
 and
 stand
 up
 this
 academy,
 this
 academy
 for
 noncommissioned

officers
that
is
designed
to
help
cause
a
very
important
segment
of
the
team
to
be
as

professional
as
it
can
be
as
it
works
side‐by‐side
with
other
parts
of
the
team:
the

officers
and
its
soldiers.
So
congratulations,
good
luck
to
you,
and
I
wish
you
all
the

best
to
you
and
your
families
as
we
together
work
to
help
bring
stability
and
peace

to
 this
 part
 of
 Africa,
 this
 region,
 and
 by
 doing
 that
 causing
 and
 hoping
 to
 cause

development
to
occur
and
stability
to
occur
that
add
to
global
security
and
stability.



And
so
when
we
provide
things
like
lift
support,
equipment,
individual
equipment,

uniforms,
logistics
‐‐
I
was
here
last
year
and
barbed
wire
for
force
protection
was

being
loaded
on
a
train.
You
were
loading
your
tanks
on
trains
for
your
deployment

to
 Somalia.
 You
 needed
 some
 help
 in
 getting
 there.
 You
 needed
 some
 canteens
 so

that
you
could
have
water
to
drink.
And
we
were
able
to
come
forward
and
provide

some
assistance
with
that.
That's
what
this
partnership
is
about.
As
you
go
forward

and
 do
 things
 to
 help
 bring
 stability
 to
 this
 part
 of
 the
 continent
 of
 Africa,
 a
 very

important
part
here
and
the
east
of
Africa,
you
and
your
partner
nations
all
around

you,
working
with
them.



So
good
luck
to
you,
all
the
best
to
you.
You're
doing
a
great
job.
Keep
doing
it.
Are

they
doing
a
good
job?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



(Chuckles.)
Are
they
really
doing
a
good
job?



(Chorus
of
"yes,
sir.")



Okay,
okay,
you
guys
are
doing
a
great
job.
Commandant
‐‐



VOICE:
Let's
give
him
a
huah!



(Chorus
of
"huah!")



That's
what
I'm
talking
about.



GEN.
WARD:
Commandant,
your
students
just
gave
you
the
best
vote
of
approval.
So

when
they
say
you're
doing
a
good
job,
that
works
for
me.
I
take
their
word,
okay?

All
right,
very
good,
very
good.
Congratulations
and
all
the
best
to
you.
Keep
up
the

good
work.
Keep
it
up,
keep
it
up.
We're
in
this
for
the
long
haul
together:
Sustained

effort,
persistence,
and
that's
going
to
make
a
difference
for
your
children
and
your

children's
children.
Glad
to
serve
with
you,
thank
you
very
much.



(END)





Transcript
by

Federal
News
Service

Washington,
D.C.

Released
by
U.S.
Africa
Command





Source:
U.S.
AFRICOM
Public
Affairs