On the second day of his official visit, Commander, Somalia National Armed Forces (SNAF), Brigadier General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh made a series of visits to Kenya Defence Forces’ institutions of excellence in Nakuru and Nairobi, a day after he had a familiarisation tour of the School of Infantry in Isiolo yesterday.
In Nakuru, the Commander paid a visit to the Kenya Military Academy (KMA), where he was received by the Commandant Major General Fatuma Ahmed. The Commander and his entourage were later flown to Embakasi in Nairobi, where he visited both the Humanitarian Peace Support Training Centre (HPSS) and the Defence Forces Technical Training College (DEFTEC).
On each visit, General Odawaa and his delegation were taken through elaborate briefs covering the institutions’ respective mandates and an extensive tour of the training facilities and programmes with a scope spanning from foundational to advanced military training and education vital in shaping the modern-day soldier.
KDF Service Personnel who made presentations and practical demonstrations to the visiting commander in each of the institutions also shared experiences. All visits presented benchmarking opportunities and open a platform for future exchange programs between the two militaries.
On his part, Brigadier General Odowaa expressed gratitude for a warm reception and an incisive tour of the KDF. “My visit here has been an eye-opener on various aspects. The lessons we have shared and the exposure we have gained will go a long way in deepening our defence cooperation as we move forward as a team,†he said at the tail end of his tour of duty.
He further commended the institutions he had visited as ideal model training centres that meet the demands of the trainees to face contemporary security threats.
The visit comes in the wake of the onset of a gradual drawdown of troops serving under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and the subsequent reconfiguration and training of Somalia Security Forces to take over the security mandate and responsibility from ATMIS Forces.
