F e a t u r e s
The Royal Air Force in Africa Serving in Sierra Leone
W
hilst personnel from the RAF continue to serve in difficult conditions across
the Middle East and Afghanistan, other personnel can be found in far-flung corners supporting the RAF’s mission as a ‘Force for Peace’. Here, Wg Cdr Paul Seymour reports from the war- torn former British Colony of Sierra Leone where he is Senior Personnel Advisor to the Armed Forces there.
Between 1991 and 2002, Sierra Leone experienced a brutal and bloody civil war that saw too many dead or maimed, infrastructure in total disrepair and government institutions ineffectual and bankrupt. The British-led International Military Advisory and Training Team (IMATT) has been operating in Sierra Leone since 2000 as a key component of the UK Government’s Security Sector Reform Programme to assist in re-building the country in this traditionally volatile part of West Africa.
After intervention by a British Task Force in 2000, which included a number of RAF personnel, and then a Special Forces-led mission to rescue IMATT staff kidnapped by the infamous West Side Boys in Op BARRAS in 2002, the IMATT mission has been challenging and at times frustrating but, fortunately, a relatively peaceful one. From the early 2000s, the IMATT team consisted of 120 permanent staff from the UK, Canada, USA, Nigeria and Jamaica.
In partnership with the Department for International Development and the British High Commission, IMATT has worked to guide the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) on a path to professionalism and respect. IMATT originally worked alongside the UN force and had 18,000 peacekeepers from around the globe attempting initially
to end the civil war and then conducting Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration – commencing the progress of turning a broken society into a peaceful one that could regenerate itself.
So what is the situation today? What lessons have been learnt and is the UK taxpayers’ money being wisely spent? To be fair, while the country is relatively peaceful – relative that is to its neighbour Guinea where there has been a recent military coup, relative to its other immediate neighbour, Liberia, where there are still some 10,000 UN troops keeping the peace, and relative to the Ivory Coast where long planned elections are delayed month after month – progress has been painfully slow with the quality of life of the average citizen not having improved greatly since the end of the civil war.
Education standards are poor – less than 3% of students attempting ‘A’ level equivalent last year passed at a level high enough to attempt university; one in five children die before the age of five. At the recent 49th Anniversary celebrations of the independence of Sierra Leone, the President announced free health care for pregnant women, those breast feeding and children under fives.
Whilst the UN has facilitated this bold move, it is nonetheless a testament to the current Government’s determination
8 Autumn 2010
to move away from the blight caused by over forty years of mis-rule and civil strife. Infrastructure needs massive investment to bring it up to even the standards of twenty years ago let alone what we take for granted in our Western Society – roads, sewerage, water, electricity are all still regarded as luxuries and ownership of a generator is a must for those who can afford one. Corruption is sadly a way of life for many and unemployment is at around 70% – not good statistics.
However, to give a balanced view, the Sierra Leonean people are optimistic and ever hopeful for a better life despite the challenges they face – smiling is a national hobby – and this includes the many high calibre officers
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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