Brig Muhoozi Roots for Stronger Ties with Egyptian Special Forces Michael Nteza Brig. Muhoozi Kainerugaba exchanges gifts with the Egyptian Commander of the Special Forces, Maj. Gen. Hemdan Gamal at the Uaminifu Officers Club at the 10 SFC Marines Unit in Entebbe on Tuesday afternoon The UPDF Commander of the Special Forces Brig. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has expressed optimism that the special operations forces of Uganda and Egypt can forge strong ties and cooperation in the areas of training, counter-terrorism, and ensuring regional security. Brig. Muhoozi said this on Tuesday during a courtesy call at his office in Entebbe by the visiting Commander of the Egyptian Special Forces, Maj. Gen. Hemdan Gamal. Maj. Gen. Gamal was accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Air Force, Maj. Gen. Ragaa Rabee Khalil, the Chief of Foreign Attaché’s in the Egyptian Military Intelligence, Brig. Gen. Osama Abdel Motteleb, the Chief of Operations, Brig. Gen. Essam Eldin Mansour and the Egyptian Defense Attaché to Uganda, Col. Ahmed Fahmy. “The two special operations forces could start by strengthening cooperation in the area of training. I was in Egypt for 6 months many years ago for company and battalion commander’s course and I have fond memories of that place,” said Brig Muhoozi. “I would like some of my officers to train in your country and gain from the experience of the Egyptian special forces.” Maj. Gen. Gamal said he was happy to be visiting Uganda, a country which he described as an important strategic partner sharing a lot in common with Egypt due to the shared resource of the River Nile waters. He said Egypt had a long history of military cooperation with Uganda especially in training, and promised to receive and train troops from the UPDF special operations Forces. The Egyptian government recently opened their first ever Defense Attaché office in Kampala which officials said is a sign of the growing relationship between the armed forces of the two countries. The UPDF Deputy Special Forces Commander Col. Muzeyi Sabiiti and the Commander UPDF Marines Col. Micheal Nyarwa also attended the meeting. Egypt has one of the most battle-hardened forces in Africa and spends billions of dollars annually on defence. Several Ugandan army officers including Maj Gen Biraaro have trained at military colleges in Cairo. The government of Anwar Sadat Egypt in the 1970s created Unit 777, also known as Task Force 777 – a military counter-terrorism and special operations unit in response to concerns of increased terrorist activity following the expulsion of Soviet military advisors from the country by Sadat and his efforts to achieve peace with Israel. It would later grow into a formidable Special Forces unit. The force is currently located in southern Cairo and is equipped with Mi-8 helicopters. The unit actively trains with a number of Western special operations groups, including the United States Army’s Delta Force, United States Navy’s SEALs, and the French GIGN.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 14:13:24 +0000
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