Blue Kunene was a success – Pinehas

THE military exercises involving air force detachments from several Southern Africa Development Community countries has been described as a resounding success by the Namibian air force commander, air vice marshal Martin Pinehas.

Pinehas said this at the conclusion of Exercise Blue Kunene, which was conducted in the Kunene region over the past two weeks, at Oshakati on Monday.

He said this year’s air force exercises coincided with two global natural calamities – the mudslides which swept through Sierra Leone’s capital, killing hundreds of people, and Hurricane Harvey, which devastated parts of the United States of America.

Pinehas said the Sierra Leone calamity had caught Africa by surprise.

He revealed that 250 tonnes of food aid had been delivered during Exercise Blue Kunene, and approximately 1 500 community members were provided with medical treatment by a team of 35 medical officers.

Minor rehabilitation work was also done at some schools in the area of the exercise.

According to Pinehas, the exercise also brought much-needed economic benefits because the participating aircraft accumulated over 350 flying hours, thereby directly benefiting fuel suppliers.

“Similarly, the hospitality industry received an appreciable financial injection,” he said.

Participants included air forces and air wings from Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The exercise is held every two years on a rotational basis with the aim of preparing SADC air forces for humanitarian and natural disaster support operations.

The chief of the Namibian Defence Force, lieutenant general John Mutwa, said at the closing ceremony that participants faced challenges, including unfamiliar and remote air strips. But in the end, they reached a significant milestone in cooperation, coordination and interoperability.

The exercise took place in the Opuwo rural, Epupa and Sesfontein constituencies of the Kunene region, but the 23 participating aircraft were flying in from the Hosea Kutako International Airport, the Odangwa airport and the Ruacana aerodrome.

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