{Twenty three Maritime Officers from Eastern Africa Standby Force -EASF- Member States completed a regional course on maritime search and rescue operations. The two week training was officially closed on 17 June 2016 at Hill Top Hotel in Kigali by Brigadier General Chris Murari, on behalf of the RDF Leadership.}
In his closing remarks, Brig Gen Murari underlined that the training equipped the participants with vital knowledge to respond effectively in search and rescue operations.
“After successful completion of this course; you have been exposed to the basic tenets of search and rescue for emergency responders and you will have the foundational skills necessary to respond effectively at the local level”, Brig Gen Murari observed.
Lt Col S.K Saeed who was representing the EASF Director, Ambassador Issmail Chanfi, noted that the aims and objectives of the course had been achieved. “For the past two weeks, you (participants) have had an opportunity to follow the theoretical and practical part of the course which was done in class with vigour, team work and commitment that you exhibited. This is an indicator of great strides EASF has so far made in its endeavour to consolidate the attained regional capability to respond and resolve conflicts and crisis that may befall the region and continent”, he said.
The Danish Military advisor to EASF, Col Jorn Rasmussen, congratulated and urged the Course participants to use the skills acquired to contribute to local capacity building.? “When you depart for your home countries, it is important that the capacity that we have built during the last two weeks become embedded in your respective organizations and that search and rescue capacity becomes sustainable”, Col Rasmussen advised the Graduating Maritime Officers.
The two week training was jointly sponsored and facilitated by Nordic Countries and the EASF Secretariat.
The Course Participants, Instructors and Course Director were awarded recognition certificates for the EASF Maritime Search and Rescue Course held in Rwanda from 6 to 17 June 2016.
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