Exercise Justified Accord 2024 Wraps Up in Kenya

Back to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — Multinational soldiers moved swiftly through the concealment of smoke grenades, avoiding simulated improvised explosive devices, while carrying out their mission to arrest two high-value targets holed up inside a mock village overrun by a violent extremist organization. A firefight ensued with multiple exchanges between forces carrying weapons affixed with blank-fire adapters.

VEO opposition forces defended their territory while displaced citizens watched from inside a tree line as platoon-sized soldiers from Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Tanzania took only 28 minutes to completely clear the village of enemies, building by building and room by room. Helicopters arrived to evacuate a casualty and a Kenya Air Force F-5E Tiger II jet fighter conducted a capabilities fly-by, just meters from the ground, to discourage any remaining enemies in the area from further fighting.

“Everyone has made new friends and should be very proud of the results of your training,” said Kenya Army Maj. Gen. David Tarus, Kenya Army Commander, Kenya Defence Forces, while addressing participants immediately following the demonstration.

The successful mission comes as a result of two weeks of joint, combined training between African partner nations, advised by soldiers from the U.S. Army 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade and the U.K. 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade.

Justified Accord 2024 was U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise in East Africa, which ran from Feb. 26 – March 7, 2024. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted in Kenya, this year’s exercise brought together 1,000 personnel and units from 23 nations. This multinational exercise built readiness for the U.S. joint force, prepared regional partners for UN and AU mandated missions, and increased multinational interoperability in support of humanitarian assistance, disaster response and crisis response.

JA24 featured more than just a combined air and ground operation at Nanyuki’s Counter Insurgency and Terrorism Stability Operations Training Centre.

Four hours away, at Nairobi’s Humanitarian Peace Support School, subject matter experts led a staff officer course, a Women, Peace and Security exchange and a Rule of Law workshop. There was also a joint humanitarian operations course, a veterinary exchange with K-9 tactical combat casualty care, as well as a command post exercise.

“The command post exercise encouraged multinational cooperation in order to deal with a complex disaster response, further complicated by the threat of a violent extremist organization.” said Forrest McKinley, exercises contractor (G7), SETAF-AF.” said Forrest McKinley, exercises contractor (G7), SETAF-AF. “We were excited to see several first-time participants, including the Republic of Congo, jump right in, offer their perspectives and become a part of the team.”

HPSS-based activities also featured U.S. Special Operations Command Africa conducting a bilateral planning exercise with KDF counterparts.

The joint, combined nature of the command post exercise provided a crucial link between JA24 and exercise Cutlass Express, led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. Exercise planners challenged participants to address the simulated complications caused by VEOs as they attempted to disrupt ground, air and sea operations in the area.

Many U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard units participated in the exercise, including the Massachusetts National Guard’s 772nd Military Police Company, the 645th Regional Support Group and the 7th Mission Support Command. Active-duty components included the U.S. Army’s 635th Movement Control Team, the 720th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment and the 7th Army Training Command. The U.S. Air Force’s 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron joined the exercise as well, conducting an air advisory workshop.

The 772nd MP Co., supported by command-and-control elements from Massachusetts’ joint force headquarters, conducted a military police exchange with the Kenya Defence Forces Military Police. Together, they shared best practices while training on everything from traffic control points to detainee operations, enhancing their combined skills with M4 carbine rifles and non-lethal weapons.

“The integration of U.S. and KDF Soldiers during JA24 provided a unique opportunity to strengthen the ties between the Massachusetts National Guard and our State Partner,” said U.S. Army Capt. Ryan Peterson, company commander, 772nd MP Co., Massachusetts National Guard. “Our Soldiers are better for the friendships that they made and the skills that they learned while conducting combined joint training.”

At the conclusion of the multinational field training exercise, which featured the liberation of a VEO-controlled village, Ambassador Robert Scott, deputy to the commander for civil-military engagement, U.S. Africa Command, expressed his appreciation to the KDF for the usage of their training area, congratulating all participants for their hard work.

“What you’re doing is dedicating yourselves to your countries and the security of your citizens,” said Scott. “You should feel incredibly proud of what you’ve accomplished together. With that, congratulations. What you’ve done here is world-class.”

Exercise content can be found on DVIDS.

About SETAF-AF

SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis-response options in Africa and Europe.

Follow SETAF-AF on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn & DVIDS

U.S. Army

The United States Army is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.

This article, Exercise Justified Accord 2024 Wraps Up in Kenya, was originally published by The Army .