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The team of soldiers, from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, based in Colchester, flew out to West Africa to complete the live-fire tactical training of the Sierra Leonean troops, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The paratroopers were led by Warrant Officer Class 2 Sergeant Major Dean Stokes, also of The Parachute Regiment and a member of the International Military Assistance Training Team (IMATT). He has been in Sierra Leone twice before on operations, and is struck by the changes:
“The Army’s been regenerated,” he said. “I’ve seen a massive turnaround and it’s given me a wealth of satisfaction. That’s why I’ve come again and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Sierra Leone is one of West Africa’s poorest countries, and its Armed Forces have been completely restructured since the end of a bloody civil war in 2002.
Now it has pledged soldiers to the African Union Mission in Somalia, deploying around April 2012 – its most ambitious deployment yet.
The course delivered by the British was mentally tough, required physical fitness and involved a demanding night-shoot, but the Sierra Leoneans proved that they could handle it. WO2 Stokes explained why this was necessary:
http://horseedmedia.net/2011/11/24/uk-paratroopers-train-sierra-leonean-soldiers-for-somalia-peacekeeping-mission/
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