General Ward Visits Gabon

Gen. Ward & Gabon's Min. of Defense.

General William E. Ward, the recently appointed Deputy Commander of the United States European Command, carried out a visit to Libreville July 18-19, 2006.  General Ward visited Gabon as part of an orientation tour to meet with security partners in Africa; following his visit to Gabon he made stops in Yaounde, Cameroon and Dakar, Senegal.  In Libreville General Ward met with the President of the Republic, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, the Minister of State for Defense, Ali Bongo Ondimba, the Chief of the Armed Forces General Jean Ntori Longho and the Secretary General of the Communite Economique des Etats d'Afrique Centrale, General Sylvain Goma.

After meeting with the President, General Ward and Minister of State for Defense Ali Bongo Ondimba signed an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) that will facilitate defense cooperation between the United States and Gabon.  The ACSA provides a legal context in which Gabon and the United States can exchange logistical support, supplies and services to further joint interests in regional stability.

General Ward's visit to Gabon reinforces the strong relationship between the Gabonese and American militaries.  Over the last year, other military-to-military activities have included the visit to Gabon in February 2006 of Admiral Ulrich, the Naval Commander at the U.S. European Command, the visit to the United States in May 2006 of Minister of State for Defense Ali Bongo Ondimba, and the visit by the U.S. Navy vessel the Emory S. Land to Port Gentil in March 2006.