Source: U.S. Department of State |

March 21: Telephonic Press Briefing on US efforts to support regional securing in Horn of Africa with Dep. Commander of U.S. Army Africa Brigadier General Jon A. Jensen

The speaker will discuss the strategic importance of Justified Accord 17, the global impact of transitioning the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to a Somali-led approach, and the United States’ effort to support regional security

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, March 15, 2017/APO/ --

Please join us on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 11:30 GMT/14:30 East African Time for a telephonic press conference with Deputy Commander of U.S. Army Africa Brig. Gen. Jon A. Jensen. The speaker will discuss the strategic importance of Justified Accord 17, the global impact of transitioning the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to a Somali-led approach, and the United States’ effort to support regional security. 

BACKGROUND:

Justified Accord is an annual, combined, joint exercise that brings together U.S. Army personnel, African Partner militaries, police, allies and international organizations to promote interoperability between participating nations for peacekeeping operations in the East Africa region.

Justified Accord 2017 will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 20-24. This year's iteration will bring together African partners and Allied nations in a classroom setting to discuss topics related to peacekeeping operations.  This exercise will include structured vignettes and practical applications related to transitioning AMISOM to a Somali-led mission. The end goal of JA17 is to increase interoperability, to further relationships with partners in the region, and to build upon the plan for a more robust exercise for JA18.

Justified Accord, formerly Eastern Accord, and in previous iterations, Natural Fire (NF), was initiated in 1998 as a U.S. Special Operations Command-Central sponsored exercise with Kenya. In 1999, the U.S. Embassy (USEMB) in Nairobi proposed NF 00 as a multilateral exercise between Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya to improve regional security, demonstrate command and control and assist the fledgling East African Community (EAC) alliance.  In 2009, the Natural Fire exercise transitioned to U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). In 2012, the exercise was renamed Eastern Accord, and in 2016, It was renamed JA.

DETAILS:

Speaker: U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, Deputy Commander of U.S. Army Africa 
Date: March 21, 2017
Time: 14:30 GMT +3
* Please use Time Zone Converter to determine the start time of the event in your time zone.
Language: English.  
Ground rules: On the record
Dial-in Info: To be provided once you RSVP 

RSVP:

RSVP to afmediahub@state.gov. Please indicate if you will dial in (specify English/French/Portuguese line), or request that we dial out to you (provide the phone number and language to be used).

Twitter: We will use the hashtags #ALFS #AfricanHorizons and #JustifiedAccord17 for the call. Follow us on @AfricaMediaHub. 

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.  Journalists can also submit questions in English to afmediahub@state.gov prior to or during the call.  

BIO:

Brigadier General Jon A. Jensen, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Africa

Brig. Gen. Jensen is the Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Africa and Southern European Task Force (SETAF) and dual-hatted as the Director of the Joint Staff, Minnesota National Guard and Department of Military Affairs, Saint Paul, Minnesota. He serves as the primary assistant to the Adjutant General with overall responsibility and oversight of more than 1,400 full-time employees of the Minnesota Army National Guard, directly supervises the Staff Directors of the Joint Force Headquarters, and is responsible for the readiness of the organization to conduct civil support operations.

Brig. Gen. Jensen earned his commission in 1989 from the United States Army Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon commissioning, he served in a variety of command and staff positions in both the Iowa and Minnesota Army National Guard. Brigadier General Jensen's command assignments include 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry, and 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. Prior to receiving his commission, Brig. Gen. Jensen enlisted in the 168th Infantry Regiment of the Iowa Army National Guard. Brigadier General Jensen has deployed in support of Operation Desert Spring (Kuwait), Operation Joint Forge (Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Brig. Gen. Jensen holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance/Business Economics from Northwest Missouri State University, a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the Command and General Staff College, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

Brig. Gen. Jensen's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (Silver Oak Leaf Cluster), National Defense Service Medal (1 Bronze Service Star), Iraq Campaign Medal (2 Bronze Service Stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (Silver Hourglass, M device, Numeral 3), Noncommissioned Officer Professional development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (Numeral 2), the Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon (Numeral 3), NATO Medal, and the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation (1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Department of State.