ACCRA, Ghana -- U.S. Marines Military Police from 4th Law Enforcement Battalion (LEB) provided non-lethal training to 50 Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) soldiers from 2nd Engineer Battalion June 17-26 during Western Accord 13 in Ghana.
Western Accord 13 was a mutually beneficial exercise hosted by U.S. Army Africa that brought together the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the U.S. Army to increase capabilities to support regional peacekeeping operations.
“The training we provided is to prepare these soldiers for future United Nations missions,” said Col. Nelson Cardella, officer in charge from 4th LEB. “We also provided this training to other members of the ECOWAS community for capacity building in support of peacekeeping operations,” he said.
Marines provided instructions on Mechanical Advantage Control Holds (MACH) techniques in unarmed combat, crowd dispersal and riot control operations. MACH techniques are designed to restrain passive resistant individuals with minimal force, and teach users to re-direct a non-compliant suspect’s resistance against him/herself through a position of advantage, which reduces the risk of injuries to both the user and the aggressor.
Cardella added that non-lethal options allow a commander the ability to deploy other than lethal forces.
GAF soldiers frequently deploy to regions throughout Africa in support of peacekeeping and stability operations. This training will be used in future operations in Africa in support of United Nations missions.
“We both benefited from this training,” said Lt. Jonas Tawiah, training officer with GAF’s 2nd Eng. Bn. “Since we use British and French doctrine, the Marines taught us the American way. We showed them our techniques as well, and our knowledge was greatly enhanced from this training,” Tawiah said.
Approximately 13 countries and more than 200 personnel from ECOWAS and the United States, and observers from several neighboring countries are participating in this exercise. ECOWAS, with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, is a regional group of 15 countries, founded in 1975. Its mission is to promote cooperation and integration, with a view to establishing an economic and monetary union as a means of stimulating economic growth and development in West Africa.
Western Accord 13 will help build the capacity of the ECOWAS and U.S. Forces to provide mission command capability to support regional peace keeping operations.