Beginning April 26, 2016, the United States and Ghana will commence Epic Guardian 2016, an eight-day joint readiness exercise. This exercise is part of a series regularly held in Africa to enhance the ability of U.S. and African government entities and security forces to respond to international threats such as trafficking and terrorism. Previous iterations have taken place in Malawi, Cameroon, Djibouti, and the Seychelles. Another segment of Epic Guardian 2016 will involve similar cooperation between the United States and Cabo Verde.
The U.S. government has collaborated with Ghana's government to organize this event, which will primarily occur on Ghanaian military sites. Participants include personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces alongside units from United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA). The training involves responding to a simulated crisis covering various topics like strategic planning, logistics, intelligence, and communications. Activities include staff crisis action planning, force deployment, field exercises completion, and force redeployment.
“International threats require international solutions,” stated U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Robert P. Jackson. “Epic Guardian is an opportunity to strengthen our bilateral relationship and to demonstrate our long-term commitment to supporting Ghana as it works to counter international threats and ensure stability and security for Ghanaians.”
The exercise aims to boost Ghana’s capabilities in communications, logistics, intelligence gathering and analysis, crisis planning response, inter-operability with an objective of enhancing security for both Ghana and its region. The U.S. government remains committed to aiding partner nations in Africa through robust partnerships like that with Ghana which has hosted numerous joint exercises including Western Accord 13 and Obangame Express 2015.
“Security cooperation is a vital part of the U.S.–Ghana partnership,” said Jackson. “We thank the government of Ghana for its ongoing cooperation to help increase regional security and we will continue to work together with African partners to promote stability on the African continent.”