Photo By Nathan Rivard | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Karl Altenburg, lead instructor, Joint Force Headquarters, North...... read more read more
From May 12–16, 2025, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Karl Altenburg of the North Dakota Army National Guard led a small U.S. delegation that included three members of the North Dakota National Guard and two personnel from the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES). Together, they joined more than 45 Beninese emergency management professionals for the Lignite Coast Tabletop Exercise, a multi-agency event designed to enhance disaster response preparedness
Altenburg, who has previously deployed to Afghanistan and twice to Kosovo, has participated in 14 international State Partnership Program engagements since 2018. As the lead instructor for the engagement, he provided essential classroom instruction on foundational emergency management concepts like the Incident Command System (ICS), which coordinates disaster response.
“This is a very good engagement,” said Altenburg, reflecting on the importance of the event. “It’s good to come back and go through the foundational skills and then have the opportunity to work with them on a tabletop exercise to see how they conduct their operations. This would be very good preparation for a future field exercise.”
The tabletop format allowed participants to simulate natural disaster scenarios. Wildfires and flooding were two of the scenarios used, and both have been familiar challenges for North Dakota. Unlike field exercises, tabletop scenarios offer flexibility in scope and scale, which allows a deeper analysis of national contingency plans and operational procedures.
Altenburg has spent years building trusted partnerships across West Africa, including engagements in Ghana and Togo, but he has also enjoyed his engagements in Benin.
“They have shown me that they are able to take some of the processes that we use in North Dakota. For example, the Incident Command System…and adapt them to their own systems,” said Altenburg. “I am very impressed that they can use what we offer, adapt it to their needs, and share what they’re learning with us.”
His perspective is shaped by both his military career and years of domestic emergency management work in North Dakota, where the National Guard and NDDES regularly collaborate during floods, blizzards, and other natural disasters.
“Even in North Dakota, the National Guard is a resource that the Department of Emergency Services can request in statewide emergencies,” he said, emphasizing the strength of civilian-military partnerships at home and abroad.
While the Beninese team led the exercise with increasing confidence, Altenburg and his colleagues observed, guided, and reinforced key emergency management strategies. NDDES team members, including Hope Brighton and Katie Leitch, brought in-depth knowledge of ICS principles and planning best practices to help shape the curriculum and support scenario-based learning.
With more than 35 years of service, Altenburg has a broad view of how partnerships like these contribute to global security and said personal relationships are a great way to ensure mutual success.
Looking ahead, Altenburg hopes to see more frequent engagements across all three of North Dakota’s African state partners: Benin, Ghana, and Togo.
“If we could have the opportunity to visit all three partner countries in the same year and return every year, I think that would be a great chance to continue building capacity,” he said.
Altenburg is set to retire at the end of this fiscal year, but he’s clear that if an opportunity arose to return as a retiree, he would answer the call. For him, this mission has never been just about training, it’s about trust, growth, and leaving a lasting impact.
“If that opportunity was presented to me, I would return.”
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.28.2025 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 498994 |
| Location: | GRAND POPO, BJ |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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