Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Army

LIVORNO, Italy – Livorno Elementary Middle School students gathered at the LEMS Media Center on March 13 to lead an immersive math modeling activity.

Divided into four specialized teams, the students demonstrated modern mathematical methodologies to community members in attendance, effectively showcasing both their academic proficiency and their leadership skills.

“The event empowers students to teach parents real world math problems through hands-on modeling and graphing tasks,” said Villet Ferreri, LEMS mathematics teacher. “The primary expectation is for the students to collaboratively teach, model and explain math concepts that each grade level is learning.”

Now in its second year, the event involves all students in grades 6–8. Ferreri noted that the presentation serves a dual purpose: it reinforces the students’ understanding while bridging the gap between the classroom and the home.

“The event also gives the students an opportunity to teach the new modeling techniques and math approaches to their parents, so they are equipped to help with the ‘new’ math at home,” she said.

Reflecting on the presentation, Ferreri expressed high praise for her students’ performance.

“All the students did an amazing job guiding and explaining their reasoning,” she said. “I’m proud of the courage and confidence they displayed and grateful to all the parents and families that came out to support us.”

Source: United States Army

SEMBACH, Germany– For a command whose members are spread across 24 countries, the opportunity to come together is invaluable. U.S. Army NATO leadership convened here for their Quarterly Touch Point February 24-25, uniting command teams from the brigade, its two battalions, and nine companies to sharpen their collective focus.

The event, QTP 26-1, was designed to build a shared understanding of readiness across NATO, identify best practices, and develop confident leaders. The U.S. Army provides Soldiers to NATO at every level, and the U.S. Army NATO Brigade ensures these personnel and their families have the logistical and human resources support they need to remain resilient and ready to support the multinational partnership.

The two-day event was packed with semi-annual training briefs, battalion break-out sessions, morale-building physical fitness, and professional development, all designed to reinforce the unit’s core mission.

Col. Jeremiah D. Pope, commander of the U.S. Army NATO Brigade, kicked off the training by setting a clear objective. He framed the event not as a new beginning, but as a crucial check-in on continuing progress.

“This event is just a continuation of the last time we met,” Pope stated. “I want to see what progress we’ve made since then, focusing in on what training you have conducted to get after the goal of readiness, specifically for your tier-one organizations.”

His subordinate commanders were ready to demonstrate their progress. Lt. Col. Natalie Meng, who commands the Allied Forces South Battalion from Naples, Italy, saw it as a key moment to align with the brigade’s goals. “This is a great opportunity to show you what we’ve been working on in this last quarter,” she explained, “and how we’re going to move forward in the next quarter.”

For company-level leaders, the QTP provided a vital link to the higher echelons of command. Capt. Jennifer Zimmerman, of Company B, Allied Forces South Battalion, highlighted the practical benefits of the sessions.

“It gives us, as a company command team, the opportunity to go over the plans and operations that we would like to have,” she said. The direct feedback from senior leaders is critical, as “it gives them the opportunity to either provide insight or guidance and support as needed from the elements that we may not have readily available to us.”

Beyond the strategic planning, the human element of the gathering proved to be one of its most valuable aspects. For leaders operating in different countries, the simple act of being in the same room was a powerful tool for building cohesion.

Capt. Zimmerman emphasized this, noting that the personal interaction was what she looked forward to the most. “I am just very excited to be essentially reunited with my fellow commanders because we don’t get that time together outside of meetings,” she shared. “So getting to actually meet teammates who are in this command struggle… for me has been my favorite part.”

Capt. Mark Howard, from Company A, Allied Forces North Battalion in Brunssum, Netherlands, echoed that sentiment, stressing the irreplaceable value of face-to-face communication. “There’s something to be said about actually being in front of a person that you can ask the questions and immediately respond to facial cues and body language,” he remarked. “There’s way more to communication than just hearing words.”

Howard explained that this personal connection is the foundation of their unique, geographically dispersed mission. “This is a great event because we are so geographically dispersed and this is one of our few opportunities during the year to all get together,” he said. “QTP 26 allows us an opportunity to really foster an environment of teamwork which helps us with our end goal: taking care of Soldiers and their families and ensuring that our mission is accomplished.”

By the end of the training, the leaders reaffirmed their collective strength. As Pope concluded, the event confirmed that “U.S. Army NATO is trained, capable, and ready to provide Title 10 support and administrative agent execution to enable NATO formations in the implementation of the SACEUR’s (Supreme Allied Commander Europe) guidance for collective deterrence and defense of the alliance.”

U.S. Army NATO supports approximately 800 U.S. Soldiers, with about 725 assigned to NATO billets across 23 European countries and in Norfolk, Virginia. An additional 75 Soldiers are assigned to Military Personnel Exchange Programs and foreign schools.

These 800 Soldiers are supported by a dedicated national support element of some 275 personnel who conduct mission essential training to achieve and maintain rapid deployment readiness, improve interoperability with allies and partners and protect U.S. personnel and interests.

Source: United States Army

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U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – U.S. and Tanzanian medical professionals completed the first-ever medical readiness exercise at Lugalo General Military Hospital and Msata Military Training Base, Tanzania, March 2-12. The mission served as an operational component of Justified Accord 2026, U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise in East Africa.

Led by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), JA26 focused on readiness, innovation and crisis response. The MEDREX advanced those priorities by testing U.S. medical proficiency in austere, resource-constrained environments and supporting the Nebraska-Tanzania State Partnership Program.

The joint medical team integrated professionals from U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force units from the Nebraska National Guard and active-duty forces. The team treated more than 800 patients across 10 distinct medical specialties, including trauma surgery, infectious disease, orthopedic surgery, optometry and pediatrics.

Tanzanian partners identified the required capabilities, shaping the U.S. medical team’s composition.

“We collaborate with the host nation about the types of specialties they prefer,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Angela Ling, a medical officer assigned to the 155th Medical Group, 155th Air Refueling Wing, Nebraska Air National Guard. “It’s not just what Nebraska has available, it’s what they need and desire, and then how do we improve readiness by fulfilling their needs.”

Providing these tailored, host-nation requirements ensures U.S. forces increase their technical proficiency and advance the interoperability required for rapid crisis response. This training promotes shared responsibility and positions African partners to achieve operational independence and lead regional security efforts.

About 20 U.S. military medical personnel provided care alongside Tanzanian counterparts at Lugalo General Military Hospital. Meanwhile, a smaller joint team deployed to the remote village of Msata, testing medical decision-making under severe resource constraints.

Treating unfamiliar regional illnesses, such as malaria, provides military physicians with hands-on experience they cannot replicate in standard U.S. treatment facilities.

“Operating in this austere environment forces us to rely on our foundational clinical skills and adapt to logistical constraints,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Halton Beumer, an ear, nose, throat and facial plastic/reconstructive surgeon assigned to the Surgical Operations Squadron, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston. “The interoperability we build here directly translates to our own operational readiness, ensuring we are prepared to deploy and provide trauma care anywhere in the world.”

Such field training ensures medical units remain tactically prepared to support large-scale combat operations globally.

“At home station, our main priority in the National Guard is ensuring that our Airmen are medically ready to deploy, and then also maintaining our readiness,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Brooke Sciuto, family medicine physician and commander of 155th Medical Group, Nebraska Air National Guard. “Here, we have the great opportunity to provide care and practice our readiness skills.”

The exercise also functioned as a battle lab for the total force. The U.S. Army tested a digital field-medicine tracker for the first time in Africa to quantify operational readiness. Providers logged encounters, procedures, diagnoses and clinical hours through a mobile interface.

Developed by the U.S. Air Force, the Medical Currency Application for Readiness Tracking 2.0 is a cloud-enabled, modular system. The platform aggregates clinical data and adds calculated measures like work-relative value units, as well as joint knowledge, skills and abilities metrics, then populates a near real-time dashboard accessible to leadership.

“The most significant improvements came from the hundreds of end users across the Army, Navy and Air Force who tested the application during operational missions and exercises,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Justin Fo, professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. “Their feedback was critical in improving usability and ensuring the platform met the practical needs of clinicians operating in real-world environments.”

The platform’s ongoing success relies on continuous user-driven feedback from the field. Testing by end users during the exercise ensures the application meets the practical needs of medical personnel.

By synchronizing the state partnership, specialized clinical expertise and digital innovation, this historic MEDREX validated U.S. medical readiness and reinforced the operational value of partnered training in East Africa.

About SETAF-AF

U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.

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