Eastern African Standby Force gets UK, Denmark boost

United Kingdom and Denmark on Monday unveiled plans to boost the Eastern African Standby Force (EASF).
EASF – one of the five regional forces for peace support operations (PSOs) has been working on acquisition for a rapidly deployable Mission Control Base to further consolidate its preparedness to participate in peace-keeping missions.
The UK Defence Attaché, Brigadier Mark Christie, and Danish Ambassador to Kenya, Mette Knudsen handed over the jointly-funded Start-Up-Kit as part of the preparations for future deployment.
The facility includes a self-sustaining headquarters with accommodation and ablutions for seventy (70) personnel. It has been designed and manufactured to fit comfortably on an area no larger than 60m x 80m on any field.
It comprises the Administration Control Office; the Planning Office to accommodate desks for 24 personnel; a Joint Operating Command Centre (JOCC), which will be the central point for all the communications; a Briefing Room that has the capacity for up to 60 personnel at a time; and a small office for the Command Group, which will control all communications for the lead-forces.
The EASF, formerly Eastern Africa Standby Brigade (EASBRIG), is one of the options for a peacekeeping force the international community is likely to consider for deployment in Burundi.
ThE 5,200-strong force declared its fully operations readiness on November 22, 2014 at the conclusion of a two-week long exercise in Adma town of Oromia Region, Ethiopia, where some 300 representatives from the ten Eastern Africa contributing countries have participated.

About Geraldine Boechat 2664 Articles
Senior Editor for Medafrica Times and former journalist for Swiss National Television. former NGO team leader in Burundi and Somalia