WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, May 4, 2017/APO/ --

EVENT:

Please join us on Thursday, May 11, 2017, at 1315 GMT for a telephonic press conference with U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph P. Harrington, Commander of U.S. Army Africa, and Malawi Defense Force Gen. Spoon Phiri, chief of defense forces of Malawi and co-host of the African Land Forces Summit 2017. The speakers will discuss the importance of regional cooperation between military forces to strengthen security and stability across the African continent.

The Malawi Defense Force recently completed training of another battalion to support the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is certified as a training battalion to support other partner nations’ militaries in their preparation to support peacekeeping operations.

BACKGROUND:

The African Land Forces Summit (ALFS) is a weeklong 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 2017 will be held in Lilongwe, Malawi, May 8-11. U.S. Army Africa commanding general will host the event on behalf of Gen. Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army Chief of Staff. The theme for this year’s ALFS is “Enhancing Capacity Through Partnership in Africa.”

This is the fifth 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 the previous year.  ALFS 2016 was held in Arusha, Tanzania, and was hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Tanzanian People's Defense Force.

DETAILS:

Speakers: Co-hosts of the African Land Forces Summit 2017:

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph P. Harrington, Commander of U.S. Army Africa

Malawi Defense Force Gen. Spoon Phiri, chief of land forces of Malawi

Date: May 11, 2017
Time: 13:15 GMT

* 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 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 #ALFSPress and #AfricanHorizons for the call. Follow us on @AfricaMediaHub 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 afmediahub@state.gov prior to or during the call. 

BIO:

Major General Joseph P. Harrington, Commander, U.S. Army Africa

Maj. Gen. Joseph P. Harrington is a native of Cresskill, New Jersey. He graduated from Stockton State College in 1987 with a BA in Accounting and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the field artillery through Rider College’s ROTC program.

His assignments include: Lieutenant in the 1st Armored Division’s 6th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment in Zirndorf, West Germany. Major General Harrington commanded 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment in Giessen, Germany; Combined Joint Staff, Seoul, Korea; twice served with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment; commanded the 75th Fires Brigade at Fort Sill Oklahoma.

Other assignments include the office of the Secretary of Defense and multiple assignments to the Army Staff and Joint Staff.

Maj. Gen. Harrington served as the Executive Officer to the 37th Army Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant to the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Most recently he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advance Courses, Command and General Staff College and the National War College.

Maj. Gen. Harrington holds Master Degrees in Public Administration and National Security Strategies.

His awards and decorations include two Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four Army Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Army commendation Medals, Joint Achievement Medal, and four Army Achievement Medals. He has earned the Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist Badge and Ranger Tab.

General Griffin Spoon Phiri, Chief of Defense Forces, Malawi

General Griffin Spoon Phiri, psc, nwc is the 12^th Commander of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) who assumed office on 29 June, 2016 after serving as Deputy Commander from 2014. He was enlisted into MDF on 12th December, 1978 and commissioned as an infantry officer to the rank of second Lieutenant in 1979 upon graduation from Kamuzu Military College (KMC) now Malawi Armed Forces College (MAFCO) in Salima District.

Since being commissioned, he rose in ranks from Second Lieutenant in 1979 to his present rank of General in 2016.General Griffin Spoon Phiri had multiple command and staff positions throughout his 39 year career.

From his first command appointment as Platoon Commander 1^st battalion of the Malawi Rifles in 1979, General Griffin Spoon Phiri served as Officer Commanding for the Combat Wing at MAFCO in 1989. Between 1994 and 1997, he served as Aide-de-Camp to the State President before commanding various units in MDF starting with the 3^rd Battalion of the Malawi Rifles in 1997, Combat Support Battalion in 1999 and 1st Battalion of the Malawi Rifles from 2000 to 2002. He was later appointed Staff Officer Grade I, Training at MAFCO in 2002 before becoming Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor at the college.

Thereafter, he moved to Plans and Policy as Senior Staff Officer (SSO) in 2005 before becoming Deputy Director of Personnel in 2006. Before being appointed Deputy Commander in 2014, General Griffin Spoon Phiri served as Chief of Training. His international assignments include Defence Advisor (DA) – Ethiopia and DA Permanent Mission of Malawi to the United Nations.