MUSANZE - Rwanda will, this month, host the East African Community Military Command Post Exercise (CPX), at Rwanda Military Academy, Nyakinama, in Musanze District.

It will bring together about 300 army officers from the rank of General to junior officers, from all the five member states of the EAC.

The military drills will be codenamed “Ushirikiano Imara”, which translates as “Strong Collaboration” in Kiswahili.

During their two-week exercise, the officers will undergo military drills in the areas of peace support, counter-terrorism, counter-piracy, and disaster management.

RDF Spokesman, Col. Joseph Nzabamwita, said the training is expected to help the armies jointly develop their capacity to respond to “complex security challenges.”
“The armies will exercise together, which will enable them to develop their capacity of tackling complex situations that may befall any of the EAC partner states,” Nzabamwita said.
“For instance, the fact that they will train from the Northern Province, which is more exposed to some of the region’s infamous natural calamities, and instabilities like FDLR rebels, it will expose them to this terrain,” Nzabamwita said.

The participants are expected to interact with Musanze residents through activities such as community work “Umuganda” and other cultural events.

CPX “Ushirikiano Imara” is a continuation of previous military exercises conducted in different countries, including Tanzania in 2004, Kenya in 2005, and Uganda (2006).

The exercise will be followed by a “Field Training Exercise” (FT-X) in 2012, which will also be hosted by Rwanda.