Events

Delaware Air National Guard and the Malawi Defence Force complete a Military Police Workshop in Lilongwe

Members of the Delaware Air National Guard and the Military Police Company of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) recently completed a military to military (mil-to-mil) security cooperation workshop at Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe, the capital of the southern African state of Malawi. 

The event, the first to take place in Malawi, focused on ground base security standards with an emphasis on law enforcement in garrison.  Captain Barry Strube and Technical Sergeant David Webb from the Delaware Air National Guard led the week-long (August 10^th to August 14^th) session in Lilongwe where 28 Malawian military police participated.  Strube and Webb, both combat veterans with experience in Iraq also discussed military police operations in a tactical environment.  The MDF Military Police Company, which faces a host of challenges, welcomed the opportunity to exchange ideas and concepts with their American counterparts from the Air National Guard.  Major Simeon Namwera, the military police company commander and MDF Provost Marshall said that this event will “help the MDF military police and improve their ability to maintain law and order on MDF military establishments.

Speaking on August 10^th at an opening ceremony to launch the event, American Ambassador to Malawi Peter Bodde hailed the exchange as a “very good sign of deepening bilateral relations between the two countries.”  Ambassador Bodde also mentioned areas beyond security where Malawi and the United States work closely together, such as promoting economic development, improving health care and bettering education.  Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Lt Gen Ernest C. Ntonya, Deputy Defence Force Commander, expressed the gratitude of the entire MDF for this event and noted past cooperation between the MDF and the U.S. Department of Defense.  Ntonya asked the visiting Air Force facilitators to impart as much knowledge as possible and share their professional experiences with the MDF military police.  He encouraged Capt. Strube and TSgt Webb to “ensure they left Malawi with empty baskets, having left behind knowledge and ideas for the military police.”

U.S. military personnel conduct mil-to-mil events with partner states through briefings, discussions, and the exchange of procedures and informational materials.  The purpose of these security cooperation events is to share ideas, concepts and methods to help each military improve its professionalism and gain a better understanding of one another.  The ground base security standards workshop will assist the MDF in developing Standard Operating Procedures for implementing security measures at home or when deployed.  During the workshop the Air National Guard team introduced several topics of interest to the MDF.  Chief among them were a review of base security and controlled access methods and procedures, patrolling and presence to deter intrusion, methods of marking military boundaries and channeling traffic, observation of base and training area perimeters and a review of U.S. procedures for establishing the threat level and appropriate measured security responses to the threat.

Security cooperation events like this one in Malawi make a significant difference in helping the MDF to develop professionalism in its all volunteer force.  The workshop proved quite popular with members of the MDF Military Police Company who got an opportunity to share their experiences and the challenges they face daily.  Several of the military policemen have participated in peace operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are looking forward to deploying with the MDF to Chad as part of a Malawian contingent for the United Nations MINURCAT II peacekeeping mission.  Military Police Command Sergeant Major Dick Mwamvani said the most useful part of the exchange was the interaction with the American servicemen who were able to share their experiences applying theories to actual situations.

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Wyatt, USA