KIGALI, Rwanda— U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James Craig, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), visited Rwanda to conduct country familiarization and key leader engagements, August 28-29.
Craig kicked off his visit by attending the closing ceremony of Shared Accord 2018, a U.S. Army Africa exercise intended to enhance the capabilities of U.S. and African Forces in performance of peacekeeping operations.
While in Kigali, Craig laid a wreath on the tomb of 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. Following the laying of the wreath, he was given a tour of the centre by a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. During the genocide, more than 800,000 people died. Twenty-four years later, the people of Rwanda promote a culture of unity.
“The Kigali Genocide Memorial was an incredibly sobering reminder of what mankind can do to each other,” said Craig, “It is a learning point not just for the Rwandans but for everyone to work to ensure that an event like that is prevented from ever happening again.”
Following the tour, Craig paid a visit to the U.S. Embassy for a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, the Honorable Peter Vrooman.
Craig’s final visit was to the Rwanda Ministry of Defense for a meeting with Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) Lt. Gen. Jacques Musemkaweli, Rwanda chief of defense, to familiarize Rwandan military leaders with CJTF-HOA.
A prime component of the CJTF-HOA mission is to help improve the defense capability and capacity among its East African partners.
The command conducts military-to-military engagements, key leader engagements, and civil-military operations to promote security and stability and to counter violent extremism in the region.
Date Taken: | 09.05.2018 |
Date Posted: | 10.01.2018 02:19 |
Story ID: | 291436 |
Location: | RW |
Web Views: | 46 |
Downloads: | 2 |
This work, CJTF-HOA Commanding General visits Rwanda, by Matthew Ahearn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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