The US military personnel with the East Africa Response Force (EARF) in support of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa have been deployed to the country's embassy in Kampala for a three-day readiness exercise in coordination with Ugandan authorities. 

According to Dorothy Nanyonga, the US embassy’s strategic communications specialist, the EARF personnel deployed since April 1, 2024, are conducting an emergency deployment readiness exercise, which is a periodically scheduled training scenario to practice procedures required during real-world humanitarian assistance and disaster response in Africa.  

She said in a statement that the EARF deploys to support humanitarian assistance and disaster response scenarios and to enable the US embassies to continue operations in emergency environments. 

“The exercise, which is done regularly in multiple countries across Africa with the approval of host governments, is for readiness and emergency response purposes only,” she said.   

Created in the wake of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, the EARF stands ready to rapidly respond to crises throughout East Africa and safeguard US interests.