Rwanda is holding a concept development conference for an upcoming East African Community (EAC) Field Training Exercise (EAC FTX) that it will host at a date yet to be confirmed this year. Army and defence spokesperson, Col. Joseph Nzabamwita, told The New Times, that the conference brings together 15 Senior Military Officials (three per EAC partner state) in addition to Defence Liaison Officers from the bloc for the week-long planning session. According to Nzabamwita, the FTX is a follow-up to the EAC Command Post Exercise (CPX) held in Musanze in October last year. “Rwanda Defense Forces has made advanced preparations to host this big military exercise”. Col. Frank Ng’anga, a Kenyan officer participating in the session, told the media they were looking at the broader spectrum of the planning aspectsHe stressed the need and importance of carrying out the operation [joint field exercise] “as one synergetic force in the region.” “Not only does this kind of military exercise involve the military alone; but it also involves, other key components, like the police, the ministries of foreign affairs, and others. It is a build up on what we have been learning,” he observed. “The previous one did not involve troops. We only had the command elements exercising the procedures that we undertake in the military to conduct our business. But this particular exercise will be able to conduct field training with real troops in the field, and we believe that this conference is very important. We’ll go into details in subsequent meetings”. james.karuhanga@newtimes.co.rw
