EUTM Somalia - Europa

EUROPEAN UNION TRAINING MISSION – SOMALIA
HELPING SOMALIA TO ITS FEET
Somalia is moving incrementally toward a more stable environment. Major challenges remain, not
least of which is the ever present threat of clan-based Warlords seeking to reassert their power and
influence. Other challenges include the threat of a sustained asymmetrical campaign mounted by
the extreme Islamist Al Shaabab (AS), the daily evidence of which is seen on our TV screens. Famine and
piracy are also major destabilising concerns with many separate agendas regarding control of relief aid and
ransom demands which can derail the fragile recovery at any point. The Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) is seeking to extend its remit throughout the country, supported by the UN, US and the EU. The
African Union (AU) in particular provides direct support through the AMISOM peacekeeping force. This
force, led by Ugandan Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, is fighting hard and suffering causalities in
attempts to defeat AS. An ambitious three year National Security and Stabilisation Plan has now been
completed to take Somalia toward stable governance following two decades of brutal conflict.
The European Union
In advance of a more stable environment, the institutional framework must be strengthened. The EU,
while already a major contributor of finance to the region, identified the National Security Force (the approx
10,000 strong Somali Army) as one
body in need of urgent restructuring
support. An EU Council decision
on 31st March 2010 launched
EUTM Somalia under UNSCR 1872
to provide training support to the
Somali Army. The Ugandan Army
(UPDF) had an existing unilateral
arrangement for providing basic
training at Bihanga and the EU
joined this effort, in partnership
with Uganda.
The Bihanga Training Camp (BTC)
facility is extremely isolated, lying
almost six hours by road to the west
of Kampala. The logistic challenge
is therefore immense and major
infrastructural work was required
to develop the camp to acceptable
European standards, particularly in
New trainee soldiers develop their skills
terms of living accommodation and medical facilities. It now enjoys both a Role 1 and Role 2 hospital
capability as well as an air strip to facilitate casualty evacuation. The education level of the Somali
trainees is very low with up to 80% of an intake being illiterate, which impacts greatly on the speed of
training delivery. An additional challenge is overcoming the deep-rooted Somali clan system to produce
units with a mix of clans, even though the dominant clan from the Mogadishu urban area, the Hawiye,
has been strongly represented to date. Training was initially focused on infantry techniques at recruit
and junior leader level, but later extended to full Company level. The Somali army is bereft of a working
Command and Control (C2) system and this had to be developed from scratch in Bihanga. The challenge
remains to achieve well-structured units, clan balanced and adequately staffed by trained NCOs, Platoon
Commanders, Company Staffs and Company Commanders. Additionally great emphasis is placed on
training the Somalis to train themselves and to increase awareness of mine and IED threats (MIEDA),
improve Combat Life Support (CLS), Fighting in Built Up Areas (FIBUA) and Communications. Training of
each intake lasts six months, the latter part of which is dedicated to cohesion training where the formed
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