MONROVIA, Liberia – Instructors from the Michigan National Guard’s 177th Regional Training Institute evaluated a “dry run” trainer led by the Armed Forces of Liberia from Feb. 19 to March 4 as the West African nation moves closer to setting up its own of the NCO Academy.
Trainers gathered at Camp Ware, Liberia, home to the AFL’s Armed Forces Training Command, to hone curriculum development, management and presentation skills. In subsequent meetings at the Barclay Training Center in central Monrovia, Brig. General Davidson Forleh, AFL Chief of Staff, thanked the American trainers for sharing knowledge with AFL counterparts.
“You could take the instructors from the AFL right now and run a professional military training course anywhere in the world,” said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brian Brace, State Partnership Program Officer for the Michigan National Guard. “Liberian trainers are passionate, knowledgeable and invested. they believe in what they do.”
Michigan and Liberia have been working together for 15 years under the Department of Defense National Guard Office SPP. The AFL was completely rebuilt following the end of a devastating civil war in 2003. For this “new” AFL, the development of a self-sufficient NCO Academy was a long-term goal.
US Army 1st Sgt. Derren Mazza, an instructor with the 177th RTI, began working with AFL instructors in late 2022.
“Since my first visit here 18 months ago, the AFL trainers have come light years from where they started,” Mazza said.
The AFL’s motto is ‘A force for good’. During 10 years of support, from 2013 to 2023, the Liberian military responded to this doctrine for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. The AFL has developed a reputation for upholding human rights and the law of war, ideals that the US government has worked hard to embed in Liberia’s military institutions. The Michigan National Guard played a role in Liberia’s Security Sector Reform through the US AFRICOM-sponsored Operation Freedom.
“Michigan and Liberia have come a long way together. Even after 15 years, this partnership continues to show its value,” said the AFL Governor. Major Cooper Manqueh. “We thank our partners for helping us develop tools to build strong NCOs, because the NCO corps is the backbone of a strong military.”
In their meetings with AFL leadership, the 177th RTI instructors also presented various action plans to kick off the first AFL Basic Leader Course at Camp Ware. As the AFL NCO Academy gains momentum, the facility has the long-term potential to become a regional hub for enlisted professional military training in West Africa.
AFL 1st Sgt. Austin Doe, AFTC instructor, said the vision for the AFL NCO Academy is clear: “We are training the NCOs of today to be the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.