Marines teach Africans non-lethal tactics

ELEVEN African states last week attended a four-day conference in Stuttgart, Germany, at which the US Marine Corps demonstrated the latest capabilities in the use of non-lethal weapons and updated tactics for general and maritime security.
Brig. Gen. Tracy Garrett, Marine Forces Africa commander, said it was important for the Marines and their African counterparts to get to know each other well, because they could be operating side by side during future operations.
"There are not that many Marine forces in Africa," Garrett said during the Marine Leaders of Africa Conference 2009.
Many of the African leaders said the nonlethal weapons demonstration was the highlight of the event. The Marine Corps’ 1st Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company from Rota, Spain, performed the demonstrations.
COMMENT: Nigeria and seven other African nations formed the Gulf of Guinea Commission three years ago to handle disputes in the region. Recently, the commission began talks to create a security force to handle the illegal drug trafficking and piracy attracted by the booming petroleum industry in the region.
"We are increasingly working together on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most critical and dangerous places because of the combination of rebel movements, drug traffickers, gun runners, and other criminal elements," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier in August during a visit to Nigeria. The country is the fifth-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S.
"We have a lot of coast, and we need the Marine Corps experience to help control it," said Maj. Onana Mfege, the foreign affairs representative with the Cameroon Air Force.