June 27 Briefing with co-hosts of the African Land Forces Summit 2019

EVENT:

Please join us on Thursday, June 27, 2019, at 14:15 GMT for a telephonic press conference with U.S. Army Maj. Gen Roger Cloutier Jr., Commander of U.S. Army Africa, and Botswana Defence Force Maj. Gen. Molefi Seikano, Commander Botswana Ground Forces Command. The speakers will discuss the importance of regional cooperation between military forces to strengthen security and stability across the African continent.

An estimated 50 land force chiefs from across Africa along with 20+ military and political leaders from Europe, South America and the U.S. will attend to provide greater perspective and strengthen relationships to defeat malign influence. Leaders will engage in plenary breakout sessions led by military and academic scholars focusing on regional organizations, multinational task forces and cooperation through peacekeeping.

BACKGROUND:

The African Land Forces Summit (ALFS) is a 4-day seminar bringing together land force chiefs from across Africa for candid dialog to discuss and develop cooperative solutions to regional and transregional challenges and threats. ALFS 2019 will be held in Gaborone, Botswana, June 24-27, 2019. The Botswana Ground Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Molefi Seikano will co-host the event with U.S. Army Africa commanding general, Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier Jr. on behalf of Gen. Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army Chief of Staff. The theme for this year’s ALFS is “Strengthening Partner Networks.”

This is the seventh ALFS. The inaugural ALFS was held in Washington, D.C., in 2010. ALFS 2012 was conducted in Kampala, Uganda, and was hosted by the U.S. Army in conjunction with Uganda People’s Defense Forces. ALFS 2015 was held in Dakar, Senegal, and was hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Senegalese Defense Force. Initially, ALFS was a biannual event, but was interrupted by sequestration and competing U.S. Army priorities in 2014. In 2015, U.S. Army Africa decided to hold ALFS annually in order to build upon the relationships created in previous years. ALFS 2016 was held in Arusha, Tanzania, and was hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Tanzanian People's Defense Force. ALFS 2017 was held in Lilongwe, Malawi and hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Malawi Defense Force. ALFS 2018 was held in Abuja, Nigeria and hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Nigerian Army.

DETAILS:

Speakers : Co-hosts of the African Land Forces Summit 2019:

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier Jr., Commander of U.S. Army Africa

Botswana Maj. Gen. Molefi Seikano, Commander of Botswana Ground Forces

Date : June 27, 2019

Time : 14:15 GMT | 16:15 SAST | 10:15 EDT

*Please use Time Zone Converter to determine the start time of the event in your time zone.

Language: English. French and Portuguese interpretation will be offered.

Ground rules: On the record

Dial-in Info: To be provided once you RSVP

RSVP: RSVP to Eventbrite

Social Media: We will use the hashtags #AFHubPress and #ALFS19for the call. You can also follow us @AFmediaHub and @USArmyAfrica.

LOGISTICS:

Callers should dial-in to the conference call 10-15 minutes early.
When an individual journalist dials-in, the operator will collect the caller’s name, press affiliation, and location. When an embassy dials in, the operator will ask the embassy’s name and location.
The moderator will facilitate the Q and A among the connected callers. Journalists on the conference call will be instructed to press the “*” and “1” buttons on their phones in order to enter the question queue. NOTE: You can press “*1” at any time during the call to join the question queue, even before the moderator begins the Q and A portion. We ask that journalists limit themselves to one question and indicate to which speaker the question is directed. Journalists can also submit questions in English to prior to or during the call.

BIO:

Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier Jr., Commander, U.S. Army Africa

Maj. Gen. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier Jr. is the U.S. Army Africa Commanding General. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the U.S. Africa Command Chief of Staff to the Commander.

Cloutier was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army upon graduating from the University of San Diego in 1988. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in international relations. Throughout his career, he has served in leadership positions and commanded from company through brigade and installation.

Cloutier’s command assignments include Commanding General of the United States Army Training Center at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Commander of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, Iraq; Commander, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division commander at Fort Stewart, Georgia, while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; Commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company 4-12th Infantry Battalion (Mechanized), 1st Armored Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany, while serving in Operation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Commander of D. Company, 4-12th Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; Scout Platoon Leader of 1-9th Infantry Regiment (L), while serving in Operation Just Cause, Panama.

Cloutier’s principal staff assignments include Director of Force Management, Headquarters Department of the Army, Deputy Chief of Staff, G3/5/7; Executive Officer to Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Belgium; Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver), 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia; Chief of Staff, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia; Assistant Chief of Staff, G3, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia; Joint Exercise Planner, United States Command Central Desk, later Secretary of the General Staff, Joint Warfighting Center, United States Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia; S3 (Operations), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado; S3 (Operations), 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado.

His awards include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Achievement Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters.

Maj. Gen. Molefi Seikano, Commander, Botswana Ground Forces

Major General Molefi Seikano is a Commander of Ground Forces Command of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). He was enlisted into the BDF in 1985 as an Officer Cadet and commissioned in 1986.

Major General Seikano is a graduate of numerous command and staff schools and military training institutions, to include Brigade and Battalion Command Course (China, 2000), Senior Command and Staff Course (Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, 2005).

Major General Seikano was appointed a Commander Ground Forces Command of the BDF in 2015. He has held numerous command and staff appointments from Special Forces Troop Commander all the way up to Commander Ground Forces Command. His various command responsibilities included Special Forces Troop Commander, Special Forces Team Commander, Special Forces Training Officer, Commanding Officer Special Forces Unit, Overseer Special Forces Group, Deputy and Commander Infantry Brigade.

Major General Seikano earned a Diploma in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Public Administration and Management, Diploma in International Counter Terrorism and Master of Arts in Strategic Security Studies from National Defence University, USA.

Major General Seikano is decorated with a Duty Code Order Medal (DCO), a Pearl Jubilee Medal (PJM), a Distinguish Service Medal (DSM) and Passed Staff Course (psc).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Regional Media Hub.

June 27 Briefing with co-hosts of the African Land Forces Summit 2019

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