frumentius:
I'm so jealous right now. A colleague is spending the entire week working out of here.

Odunayaw:
where is this?

Henry24o:


I agree with all you posted, but in the mean time, what about digging trenches? As well as the Hesco walls, the KDF has to look into digging trenches to slow down the attackers.

Also digging trenches for the AML-90s, this would limit the risk of hitting the IFVs, while providing good line of sight to hit the attackers.

frumentius:


Gerotek Testing Facility. Soldiering can be such hard work sometimes !
http://www.armscor.co.za/?page_id=3967

africaken254:
entrenching the AML-90 will limit its mobility and the attackers could outflank its position.thus attack where its weak.also i don't think it will be advantageous to fight at the same level as your enemy ,those observation towers and the raised perimeter wall of combat outpost .will definately give you unfair advantage over your attacker,they are exposed while you can use the perimeter for your defence(fire at your enemy and duck when they concetrate fire on your position,still you can move to another firing position safely)while others are defending the perimeter wall,the mortar crew inside the compound is safely firing a constant barrage of mortar rounds.directed by anyone on the wall or observation towers with a hand held radio. hesco bastions are cheap,uganda troops were even arrested selling them in the mogandishu black market

bantudra:
i watched people talking about the alpha jet as if its nothing...

facts:....

1. we are doing very well with the alfa jets..some people call it a trainer jet..but i am not the opinion..
it can be upgraded easily and cheap...

2.we can buy the licence and specialize in it..if proforce and innoson are capable to build or assemble a car then we can easily produce it ourselves...

3.alpha jets can be mounted with missiles or bombs too..

4.mach speed..may not be super mach speed but its mach speed enough...

5.we are the only nation that has control over the skies in west africa....

6.a f35 is not necessry when we have only friendly black nations around us...combining all west african aerial power is already world power...west african nations have different types of aircrafts..combining forces is important and much cheaper to maintain...

7.we dont need to buy a f35 when we can just train our pilots to even operate f35s...
we just hijack the f35s our enemies has and use it against them..we have the manpower and intelligencia..

sooooo..no matter how anybody sees it...the alpa jet is a good start that can be upgraded to whatever we wish in the future...

Kenyan soldiers destroy a probox vehicle carrying an IED between Gelef & Delbio in Somalia

Henry24o:


I agree with all you posted, but in the mean time, what about digging trenches? As well as the Hesco walls, the KDF has to look into digging trenches to slow down the attackers.

Also digging trenches for the AML-90s, this would limit the risk of hitting the IFVs, while providing good line of sight to hit the attackers.

ActivateKruger:


Terror and all kinds of insurgencies are intelligence not military issues. When a country has homegrown terrorism issues it simply means they have no solid intelligence institutions.

As for Al-Shabab, they can't go beyond Kenya. Southern Africa is a different region. Islam is rare and state intelligence is on a different level.

On foot in Kulbiyow: NTV kenya obtains exclusive access to kulbiyow KDF base in Somalia

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGKL31nS2U

africaken254:

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGKL31nS2U

Fidha254:

Seems the one 100% proof way to kill a VBIED is to make sure it never gets assembled in the first place....
KDF long range suveilance units and other specOps units should be tasked with specific missions to hunt down bomb makers or underground IED factories .... because IEDs and VBIED are somethings you wanna avoid completely, they have the power to take out a whole unit in one moment..

look at the trees

Fidha254:

Intelligence inside Kenya used to be a big problem but not of late, and even in the past when attacks used to happen on kenyan soil very frequently, its not that there was not intelligence, its because the NIS used to just hand oit dossiers and brief to the police (this was after the NIS was stripped off powers and their only job was to gather intelligence and hand it over to police) the police use to read it and see nothing specific (like an attack will happen in the city in june on a school -no specific date or which school)
but this largly changed after the head of military intelligence who had been dealing with alshabaab in somalia was made head of NIS, and all departments dealling with Counter terrorisn CT were brought together to work as one unit when responding to local terrorism, that means NIS can gather intelligence then use paramilitary specOps to carry out raids without having to deal with lots of beaurocracy....



About intelligence in somali through military intelligence, that has never been a problem, if you look at it, every attack on a KDF camp, there has always been prior intelligence on imminent attack, what happened in el-adde was just poor response and bad call from the officer in charge.....
There are always reorts of prior intelligence on almost all attacks by alshabaab, just yesterday alshabaab executed 2 of its members for spying for Kenya and Somalia......

even an account from the commander of Kulbiyow camp gives you details of prior intelligence ..

-------

Major Denis Girenge, the commander of the Kenya Defence Forces camp at Kulbiyow that was attacked by Al-Shabaab on January 27 has for the first time given a blow-by-blow account of the battle against the estimated 1,000 militants.
The major, whose narrative was backed by footage shot by a drone that the military showed to the Sunday Nation, said a day earlier he received a call from an officer based at the Hulugho camp manned by KDF soldiers, who reported strange movements about 12km away that they suspected were Al-Shabaab militants.
“We concluded that they were planning to attack either my camp or Hulugho because from that point, we were 14km away while Hulugho was 18 kilometres away,” said Major Girenge.
He added: “I decided to send out a patrol at night, 5km north of my position so that they could spot an enemy approaching.
"At 6 pm I called my men and briefed them. We reconfigured our defence to replace the men who had gone out.”
At 3am one of the sentries informed him about some movements, like a heavy vehicle was moving.
Major Girenge estimated it was 8km away.
“After some minutes the movement stopped and there was none at all. We decided we should call surveillance guys.
"We had tried to call the locals to ask if they had spotted anything but none of their phones were going through,” he said.
The surveillance team at Hulugho dispatched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, better known as drones, for the surveillance mission.
The drones were airborne within 10 minutes and from his command centre at the camp, the Major was monitoring images relayed from the skies.
“At around 3.30am I saw a sizable group in a bush, about 80 guys and it’s like they were receiving a briefing. We got the grid and laid our weapons including mortars and hit the place,” said Major Girenge.
THE ATTACK
It disrupted their meeting and they all rose and started running towards the camp.
“We were about 4km away. We could see them from the drone images.
"We kept on hitting but the group kept on increasing and we established that many other people had crept in, in groups during the day and were hiding in the bushes,” added Major Girenge.
At that point he called his commander in Manda and informed him that the numbers of the attackers was increasing by the minute despite the relentless firing.
The group then stopped at a village called Bulaqoqon, which is about 1.5 kilometres from the camp, and started marching towards the camp after about 10 minutes.
“At this point their number was a thousand plus. But before they began moving again, they all bowed to the ground and started praying.
"We could see all that from the drone. We hit them at that point and they started moving,” Major Girenge said.
By 5.15am the group was 800 metres away from the camp’s first line of defence positions.
“I ordered my men to open their small arms, and start hitting them. All this time they had not fired back. Until about 5.45am they fired the first shot.
"So I reported to CO (commanding officer) that we have established contact. My commander told me he has already scrambled aircrafts and they would be taking off,” said the major.
He went on: “The battle was on and everybody was busy. One soldier called me on radio and his exact words were Afande iko VBIEDs zinakuja, (Sir there are Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices approaching).”
A VBIED is simply a bomb on wheels.
“I told him to engage 84 mm calibre weapon which we use to destroy heavy vehicles. He fired and it exploded outside.
"The explosion was so massive and that changed the scenario. It created a gap and suicide bombers followed,” said Major Girenge.
The explosion created a massive impact because fragments were felt in a radius of 200 meters.
FAKE PHOTOS
Another two VBIEDS approached the camp but they never penetrated the defence lines after they were taken out by high calibre weapons.
“The explosion was massive and I believe that is what led to the number of casualties we sustained,” added Major Girenge.
Sitting on a bench outside his ward at the Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi, he continued to narrate the events without batting an eyelid.
The battle-hardened soldier has fought in Somalia starting with his time at the rank of Captain.
He was in Kismayu in 2012 and the company he was leading had also taken Fafadun from Al-Shabaab in the same year.
Col Kenneth Mungai answers questions during an interview with Nation at Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi on February 4, 2017. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
At 6.15am one of the pilots called him to say that he was getting into the aircraft and would be overhead in 30 minutes.
“At 7;45 am I heard the first choppers overhead. By 7am all guns were silent and I could hear a few remnants shouting as they pulled their bodies and run away.
"I called Army operations to say firing had ceased and we are consolidating and asked choppers to come in and help casualties,” added Mjr Girenge.
By 9am rescue helicopters had come and I was among the first to be airlifted.
He sustained gunshot wounds on his left arm, legs and lower abdomen.
Asked about the contradicting reports that the camp was overrun, the major burst out in laughter.
“I was at the camp until the last minute. If it was overrun I would not be here right now talking to you. I would be somewhere dead.
"We defended the camp to the last minute. It is Al-shabaab who ran away,” he said.
Regarding images posted by Al-Shabaab terrorist and their sympathisers, showing burning military tanks, he added.
“There were no tanks at Kolbiywo so those images are from somewhere else. They left immediately the aircrafts started firing.
"If anybody would have withdrawn from that camp, it would have fallen. We would be having a different story today.
"The only people who were out are those who were on patrol. I have since established they are well,” said Mjr Girenge.
STILL ALIVE
There were also claims that the command had fallen and the commanding officer either dead or taken prisoner by Shabaab.
He said: “I am the OC (Officer Commanding) and so claims that I died, that I went with Shabaab should not even be considered. I am right here.”
The Major, together with another officer of equal rank, and three Captains, commanded a total of 250 soldiers at the camp.
The core unit, comprised of the C-Company of the 15 KR based at Mariakani.
Other supporting units were Battery Pac Howitzer (artillery battery that specialises in heavy weapons), Section mortars and Engineers.
The team was deployed to Somalia on December 28, last year.
Official KDF reports shows 21 personnel died.
The initial report said nine KDF personnel were killed and the senior medical officer at the military hospital Col (Dr) Kenneth Mungai said 12 others died while undergoing treatment.
He added: “We received 44 personnel with injuries. Most of them were bullet injuries. We have since discharged 20 of them. So we still have others in hospital. Most of them required surgery.”
Major Girenge dismissed the Al-Shabaab propaganda figure of more than 50 dead as the usual terrorists’ trick of “blowing things out of proportion”.
Major Girenge is ready to go back to Somalia after leaving hospital.
The narrative given to the Sunday Nation was backed by drone footage that the military said gave a true picture of the events.
Major Girenge came back with a souvenir that will forever remind him of the war.
It is his smart phone with a bullet hole right through the middle.
Corporal Amani Ramadhan, another battle hardened soldier saw four of his men go down.
He was the section commander and in charge at the first line of defence.
“We were well prepared, the defence was organised. This was not a surprise because we had information. In terms of equipment we were prepared,” said Corporal Ramadhan.
Corporal Amani Ramadhan speaks to the Nation at Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi on February 4, 2017. He saw four of his men go down. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
RELENTLESS SOLDIERS
When the first VBIED arrived at 6am, he ordered the men under his command to shoot the driver.
“The aim was to kill the driver and unfortunately we were not able to. After two minutes there was a heavy and loud explosion and it suddenly became dark like the night.
"All trees around were uprooted. I was only 30 metres away. I think I was the first victim. I lost a finger,” he said.
He, however, continued fighting along with a colleague he identifies as Sergeant Asiz, who was firing using a mounted machine gun.
“He told me he had fired the last bullet in the belt. I gave him another belt. He was shot as he loaded it. But he stood up and went on.
"He fired again before he was shot thrice. Then Corporal Mwakio was using an M4 and I told him to drop it and take over at the machine gun. He spotted another VBIED,” said Cpl Ramadhan.
He went on: “I told him to shoot the driver because if they came closer we would die. He shot the target and it exploded at a good distance. There was a third VBIED and it took another direction.”
Unfortunately Corporal Mwakio was also shot thrice and fell.
Two men were left with him Private Nguyo and Corporal Ouma who from their positions they were not able to take the machine gun.
They also died in battle.
As the Corporal lay still injured, he saw Al-shabaab fighters load bodies of their dead fighters on two lorries.
He estimates more than 200 bodies were loaded on trucks.
“At no time was the camp overran. They ran away. If it was overran then we would not be here. Rescue aircraft were able to land. To me in my estimate we killed over 200.”
“The bodies were piled until the lorries were full. Those are the only ones I saw but there were other,” said Corporal Ramadhan.
brave soldiers fought their last battle - VIDEOThe only people who were out are those who were on patrol. I have since established they are well,” said Mjr Girenge.

africaken254:

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGKL31nS2U

overhypedsteve:
they fought like true African warriors. Although Air support came in late.

Henry24o:



I have no idea of border war, I won't comment on a topic I'm not conversant with.

chkil:
sukhoi 30 MKA , spotted Algerian AF

frumentius:
I'm so jealous right now. A colleague is spending the entire week working out of here.

Henry24o:


I'm glad this whole thing was a propaganda fail. African militaries need to understand that propaganda has a 50% input in the war victory itself.

Releasing statements on paper like the Soviets no longer cut it. This isn't 1970. Even the Russians no longer do that crap, they are now pushing as much military propaganda as the Europeans. Not yet on the level of the Americans though, those guys are playing in a much higher league of their own.

There's a KDF soldier with a giant digital camera, what's he doing with it? Photos should be released atleast on a weekly basis and after engagements with the enemy.

overhypedsteve:
they fought like true African warriors. Although Air support came in late.

overhypedsteve:
they fought like true African warriors. Although Air support came in late.

Henry24o:


I'm glad this whole thing was a propaganda fail. African militaries need to understand that propaganda has a 50% input in the war victory itself.

Releasing statements on paper like the Soviets no longer cut it. This isn't 1970. Even the Russians no longer do that crap, they are now pushing as much military propaganda as the Europeans. Not yet on the level of the Americans though, those guys are playing in a much higher league of their own.

There's a KDF soldier with a giant digital camera, what's he doing with it? Photos should be released atleast on a weekly basis and after engagements with the enemy.

Airborne360:

The CO should have scrambled Air support immediately hostile elements were spotted then send a team to mop up,its more easier that way . A lot they need to improve upon and finally Respect to fallen heroes

tdayof:

Yes. RIP to the dead. After sighting hundreds of militants, the CO should have requested for an airstrike immediately.
At least Air back up should be airborne or put on ready to launch.