Africa Partnership Station, USS Fort McHenry

Reflections on the Armed Forces of Liberia; 10 years on... March 27th, 2008

One of the nice things about being part of history (we all are part of it, by the way) is that sometimes we get the opportunity to profit from serendipitous events planned and scheduled along lines that have nothing to do with us whatsoever..... and so it was with the inaugural "Africa Partnership Station" (APS) in 2008. U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, under the U.S. European Command began the planning and then execution of this event long before we ever saw the USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) and HSV Swift, for APS in March 2008.

When I first heard about APS several months prior to its arrival, I did not give it much attention and handed it off to my more than capable deputy, Lieutenant Command Esly Peters. He took care of all the VERY DETAILED planning and port coordination as I focused on security sector reform (among so many other things). As the event approached, LCDR Peters politely reminded me that this thing could be a big deal. We took a close look and saw a lot of synergies possible. Our team at the Embassy and U.S. Navy Africa came up with with a lot of activities.

APS called on Liberia in March, 2008. There was so much that Liberia gained from the visit, including:

• Delivery of the first donated post office mail boxes and other items needed to restart the Liberian Postal Service. The Fort McHenry brought the equipment from the US to Liberia (and carted it around for months before making call in Monrovia too!)
• A Navy band to perform with the new AFL Band. This sounds trivial to some, but trust me, in post-conflict Liberia, if you wanted to swell national pride and get everyone's attention, just ask the AFL Band to perform somewhere. It reminded me of that old commercial "when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen." Everything seemed to stop and everyone gave a listen. The two bands performed together several times. It was electric, exciting and memorable to say the least.
• A Navy Construction Battalion (See-bees) unit to repair roads, fix wells, schools, and clinics. We took advantage of their arrival and sent the newly trained AFL combat engineers to get on the job training. We were able to have the See-bees for several weeks and they did a fantastic job. Local communities reaped enormous benefit from their skills and construction equipment (which I could not yet buy for the AFL) and the teamwork with the AFL.
• A port visit. This alone -- the sight of US Navy warships off the coast of Monrovia and anchored outside the Freeport was a much needed sign of commitment, a boost for morale among Liberians and a signal that Liberia was back and it had friends committed to the path.
• Additional training for Liberian soldiers who had numerous classes and training events with U.S. Marines who came with APS.
• West African naval officer ship riders participating in APS were a poignant sign of how Africans can excel at maritime operations. There were several West Africans on APS. They set great examples for Liberians who perhaps aspired to become the inaugural crop of AFL Coast Guard members (who were initially drawn from the new AFL).

APS was one of the single most important events in my professional life working with the Navy. It was immensely insightful, rewarding and well, actually a lot of fun. Many lessons I learned from APS still resonate with me today, a decade later. We certainly thanked the Navy, the Marines and the partner nations who participated back in 2008. But I would be remiss if I did not thank them all once again. Thank you all for your contributions, your dedication and above all for the RESULTS we all achieved, made possible only because of APS.

Is Liberia a better place today? If we judge it on 1993, 2003 or even my arrival in 2007, yes of course it is. History will judge us all down the road. But I am confident historians, while perhaps critical of the approaches, will be kind to the Liberians, Nigerians, Americans, Brits, the UN and everyone who sought to bring Liberia back from the abyss in the second half of the aught decade of this century.

Colonel Chris Wyatt, September 10th, 2017