On Wednesday June 8, 2016, the U.S. Embassy in Bamako and the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and African Integration signed two Memoranda of Understanding to implement a Crisis Response Team (CRT) Program and a National Security Fellowship. The CRT Program will allow the formation of 3 teams of 24 gendarmes (72 total) over the course of 3 years, to enhance the crisis response capabilities of Malian security forces. The program will be implemented by the State Department’s Bureaus of Counterterrorism and Diplomatic Security and the Office of Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) through the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, in partnership with the National Gendarmerie and the Peloton d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (PIGN). Through a multi-phased approach, the program will provide tactical and operational training assistance, personal protective equipment to implement and sustain the program, and mentoring efforts led by American professional security experts.
In addition, the National Security Fellowship Program will assist in bolstering the human resource capacity of the new Inter-Ministerial Coordination Office, the Malian Government’s body dedicated to consistent, long-term security strategy development and implementation. Under this 2-year program the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California will host 12 promising young leaders and strategic planners from five different Ministries (Security, Defense, Finance, Justice and Foreign Affairs). The candidates will be selected by the Malian Government and will undergo a rigorous Master’s program in National Security Affairs, supplemented by practical exercises that will prepare them to contribute to security decision making at a national level.
