Special Operations Command Africa conducts annual Silent Warrior conference online

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Love | Screen capture of participants of Silent Warrior 2020  

STUTTGART, BW, GERMANY

12.18.2020

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Love 

Special Operations Command Africa

Stuttgart, Germany – In keeping with a year of adaptation, Special Operations Command Africa conducted the annual conference, Silent Warrior, online.
Special Operations Command Africa has held the conference for African and foreign special operations-related entities since the early days of the command. The event is usually held in Garmisch, Germany, but was the latest in a long line of events to be held online instead.
“We decided to go through the effort to preserve this touchpoint with our partners because our mission is too important to let up,” Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, SOCAFRICA commander said to an audience in locations across the globe. “Violent extremist ideologies are antithetical to stability, opportunity, and to our children’s futures…And, that’s why we do what we do, to [protect] the values and interests shared across boundaries and secure the future for our families, and our nations’ families.”
Silent Warrior 2020 was held 8-10 December. The event featured panels of subject-matter-experts discussing a broad array of topics, which while varied, were mostly focused around managing and cultivating factual information on the African continent.
“We’re focusing this year on non-kinetic activities,” said Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of SOCAFRICA. “We are talking about taking preventative measures to keep fires from starting. When countries are calling in the military, the fire is already well-established. It’s important to address things early and be able to provide support to our partners to keep things from getting out of hand.”
In a first for this usually in-person only event, participants attended from five different continents (Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Australia), covering six different Global Combatant Commands (AFRICOM, EUCOM, NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM, CENTCOM, INDO-PACOM) in 11 different time zones. The event was conducted in English and simultaneously interpreted into Arabic, French, and Portuguese.
“While we did miss the in-person interaction that is so important, we did learn a lot of important lessons and techniques we plan to implement in future Silent Warrior conferences,” Anderson said. “We look forward to seeing our partners in person again, but for those who can’t make it next year, we are now able to provide the opportunity for them to attend online.”

• Date Taken: 12.18.2020
• Date Posted: 12.18.2020 10:03
• Story ID: 385305
• Location: STUTTGART, BW, DE