To make military operations work, they need expertise in the background to keep them going. An essential one is making sure that ammunition is available and safe. Not only for the military, but also for all civilians in the surroundings. For that reason EUSDI GoG send an expert to share his knowledge with his counterparts in Benin.

After six weeks in a class-room , it was time to get some fresh air and to practice on the terrain what has been learned. With the exams coming closer, it was also a good opportunity for dotting the i's and crossing the t's. During the visit, students expressed their opinion that the course was very useful. Although the exam in a week causes a healthy level of stress, the atmosphere is good and everybody is looking forward to the last two week.

EUSDI GoG

EUSDI GoG empowers Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin to strengthen their security and defence forces on the basis of their expressed needs to help them respond to security threats in their northern regions.

The initiative combines civilian and military expertise and assets to

-      contribute to enhancing Host State resilience in vulnerable areas in their northern regions through capacity building of their security and defence forces;

-      provide pre-deployment operational training of Host State security and defence forces;

-      support the enhancement in technical areas of Host State security and defence forces;

-      promote the rule of law and good governance in Host State  security sectors, focusing on their security and defence forces, and support trust-building between civil society and security and defence forces.

To implement its tasks, the Initiative positions both military and civilian advisers, mobile training teams, visiting experts and crisis response teams to meet the expressed needs of the Host States ensuring local ownership and leadership. It also implements civilian and military projects, while facilitating the implementation of assistance measures under the European Peace Facility.

The initiative is supported by a civilian and a military pillar with limited standing footprint on the ground that work side by side combining capabilities to achieve maximum effect.