 My name is Captain Nicholas van Tolder. I am the Civil Military Support Element Ghana team leader coming out of 91st Civil Affairs Battalion in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. So the Civil Military Support Element Ghana is the Special Operations Civil Affairs Element in for the country of Ghana and our mission here is to do Two main things what we call civil reconnaissance and civil engagement so we are getting out into the communities and into the countryside of Ghana to engage with local communities local leaders and institutions in order to identify those Concerns among the population what we consider civil vulnerabilities and civil grievances So those are concerns among the population and their leadership that might make them vulnerable to VO so violent extremist organization recruitment and expansion into Ghana and the northern regions of Ghana specifically Yeah, so the small picture of what happened yesterday is My civil military support element team in conjunction with the team of reserve civil affairs soldiers from the 404th and The civil affairs planning section from CTAF AF Came together to coordinate a medical civic action program in the town of Karaga Which really achieved two different purposes one it provides medical support using AFRICOM assets to address medical concerns in the community and Fill some of the gaps in local medical capability That exists on the Ghanaian side and then the second objective is my civil affairs team Was able to be present and to engage with local leadership. So we had Conversations with several of the local chiefs Fulani groups and minority populations as well as members of the police and local government in order to discuss those civil vulnerabilities and grievances in the district of Karaga and Some of the issues that have been leading to communal violence in the region Yeah, that's a great question. So what we're able to do here is by Demonstrating one way in which the United States Builds relationships with local communities and local leadership, which is medical civic action programs We can demonstrate to the Ghanaian armed forces The importance of building ties with local communities and civil institutions in order to In order to facilitate their own missions and operations aimed at countering violent extremism so the local community is where violent extremists take root and receive their Funding and support and shelter which is critical to their operations So being able to have ties to the local community that can help the Ghanaian armed forces counter Those extremist organizations is is key to their mission of securing the country Yeah, this is a fairly new initiative Ghana has for a long time been an island of stability and security in Coastal West Africa and they continue to be, you know, a very professional and capable Nation and military specifically So what we'd like to do is be able to reinforce their success By helping them develop their civil military Operations and civil military Professionals within the Ghanaian armed forces so they can continue to be that stability that island of stability And they can set the example the way they have done for a long time for the region And hopefully export their stability export their success Throughout the region The US has had a very long and strong partnership with Ghana It goes back many decades and has branched out across military medical Political spheres has been as successful in all of those which is why we're able to be here today and work so closely with their armed forces So, you know, the United States gains from having a stable and prosperous partner in West Africa Yeah, so African lion is a large multinational exercise hosted by Southern European Task Force Africa involves a number of countries Conducting exercises across West Africa, and this is one of the first years in which Ghana has been involved So this year we've had a number of shared training exercises between US and Ghanaian forces working on things like border security engineering skills Maneuver Basic infantry maneuvers and in this case here civil affairs and medical outreach So it's been From this small portion that we witnessed this week a very successful exercise that showcases You know the professionalism and talent of the Ghanaian armed forces and the opportunity for both of our militaries to learn from each other's expertise and professionalism the medical team overall was able to saw a lot of hypertension malnourishment with particularly within the the the children and A variety of other common illnesses and complaints so they were able to provide general medical care and essentially a first step of initial care and then the Ghanaian Medical team was also there to be able to Provide their standard Standard level of medical treatment. They were able to provide care to roughly 285 People within the town of Karya. So that's a pretty Big accomplishment and within the words in the words of the local member of parliament historic event