By Gloria Nakiyimba
The US Marines have donated equipment to the UPDF to complete engineering projects and enable more effective crisis response in the area. The equipment includes: 30 Mercedes trucks with parts for maintenance, two CAT bulldozers, three M-35 2.5 ton trucks, one Rough Terrain Container Handler, and medical and communications equipment
These were being used by the Marines, and Sailors with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, while training UPDF soldiers at Jinja camp from for two months from March to June this year.
The US TSC team was led by 1st Lt. James Hubler who noted that their mission was to train the UPDF soldiers in US army areas of expertise.
“With this new capability, the UPDF will be able to better serve their people,” Hubler said
The Ugandan troops were trained in seven main operational areas. That is motor transport operations, maintenance, communications, supply, civil engineering, heavy equipment operations, and utilities management.
The Ugandan soldiers were excellent students and it was easy to see how much they truly care about serving their country. They will walk away from the training with valuable experience they will use to keep their home secure and to conduct peacekeeping operations abroad, which enhances security and stability in the region.” Said 1st Lt. Hubler
According to a statement issued by the US Embassy in Kampala, the Theater Security Cooperation mission is meant to strengthen ties between the people of the United States and Uganda. The
“Our training with the equipment they will now be using enabled a train-the-trainer mindset that will be a catalyst for future interoperability and security for the region” he added