Ghanaian navy sailors joined a German navy maritime interdiction operations (MIO) team and a U.S. Navy medical trainer for three days of maritime security training at Naval Base Tema, Ghana, ending March 18, 2015.
The training took place prior to the official start of Exercise Obangame Express 2015, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), which increases the collective ability of African, European, South American and U.S. maritime forces to work together in order to increase maritime security and sustain global commerce.
Commander Derrick Attachie, Lead Planner, Ghana, Obangame Express commented, “We are all one people, and it is better to be working together than to work alone. The problems at sea have become transnational, and we know that one country cannot fight it alone. If you don’t have the support of international organizations and if we, as Africans, don’t cooperate ourselves, then there will not be success.”
Lieutenant Commander Julian Liese, commanding officer, German MIO team stated, “Tactically, there are a lot of similar ways of doing things, like sweeps and multiple room clearing, because the U.S. and NATO ways of doing things are spread all over the world. Boarding teams are the ones directly on the spot to help save the country. It starts at the tactical level.”