By Michael Tolzmann
KITGUM, Uganda – When the son of a Seabring, Fla., couple stepped onto the orange-red soil of this Central African nation, he could have been walking into a National Geographic special presentation.
Surrounded by Africans living in grass-roofed mud huts that dotted the countryside, 550 American military members would bring modern medical science and medication, sweat equity and supplies to rebuild old, rundown schools, and an open textbook in sharing non-lethal military tactics that Eastern African armies could use to bring civil order during future times of trouble.
Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Robert J. Abt Jr., son of Robert and Colette Abt of Seabring, recently spent a couple of weeks here supporting a military exercise that focused on humanitarian assistance to local Ugandans, along with cooperation between American troops and five area 
countries. Exercise Natural Fire 10 created friends and partners from the nations of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the United States in a remote, austere region of Northern Uganda, just south of Sudan.
Abt is a pharmacy technician with the 171 st Air Refueling Wing located in Pittsburgh. He came to this country to share his technical expertise.
“I facilitated our entire pharmacy operation at three locations we operated from. We filled over 7,000 prescriptions involving 200 different medications in a one-week time span. I was 
also part of the ‘advance’ team, organizing and preparing for our team of 30 medical personnel for our humanitarian mission. Coming here gave me a whole new perspective on how well we live in America with the small things we take for granted,” Abt said.
The exercise was led by U.S. Army Africa, but American participants included soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from all over the globe. Exercise highlights included American doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists working side-by-side with African partner militaries and providing care to more than 
12,000 local Ugandans.
Two local schools and a hospital had construction renovation projects completed by U.S. Navy construction specialists. American Marines here were often covered in orange-colored soil following their daily interaction with the African armies. They taught non-lethal tactics such as crowd control, shared with the Africans in each other’s weaponry and practiced peacekeeping operations.
Abt and his American colleagues gained experience and learned about Africans in this remote place.
“I’m gaining a sense of pride and accomplishment that makes me feel good about us helping people. We hope to gain a solid foundation between the Air Force and the African militaries. We hope to help the people here with the downfalls and struggles of a third-world country that is trying to bounce back from years of pain, deplorable conditions and struggles against a militia that has tormented their families and tortured their children,” Abt said.
The United States Africa Command and its subordinate command U.S. Army Africa are available to deploy to Africa in support of a crisis. They exist to promote security, stability and 
peace in Africa. In recent years, Uganda has been subjected to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias and various government forces that extend across its borders. Uganda is a host to hundreds of thousands of regional refugees.
Exercise officials said the exercise partner nations have extremely capable military organizations and that American and African militaries are actively learning from each other.
Through experiences here, Abt developed his own impressions of Ugandan culture. “The people here live simple lives and believe in family, community and the love of the land. The sky and sunrises are like no other. The tradition of their song and dance is an amazing choreography. The many huts and simple structures are very interesting and a life we would never see in America,” Abt said.
Abt arrived in Africa with expertise based on his military career. He has completed 21 years of military service including a deployment to the Middle East in 2004. His future plans are to 
retire from the military.
Although the backdrop to this military exercise conjures visions of a place fit for a safari, the Americans who made their way to this remote African location were much more likely to see a sick child, a hammer or a defensive shield than a monkey. But by helping locals who may know where those monkeys are, a strengthened cooperation between peoples may help keep the region safe and free, for those who prefer to enjoy its natural beauty.
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