USIP hosted Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker for a briefing on Africa before he deploys to Djibouti in May as commander of the Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa.

The meeting, arranged by USIP's Marcia Wong and Brian Rose, was a follow-up to earlier collaborations with the Defense Department, and part of a continuation of the civil-military partnership between USIP and multiple defense agencies. USIP experts gave Baker an overview of the Institute's training programs and Academy work. Baker will face myriad challenges in the region, not least of all the defeat of al-Shabaab and other terror networks that pose serious threats to U.S. national security. Baker, like other commanders, seeks to harness the whole of government to be effective on the ground. As such, USIP's Beth Cole provided a comprehensive look at the Institute's course offerings in-country and in Washington, with Jacki Wilson focusing on Africa-specific projects.

The Institute's David Smock, Raymond Gilpin, Bob Perito, Jon Temin and Hamid Khan briefed Baker on the range of economic, legal, religious and security sector governance work the Institute is doing on the African continent. Tara Sonenshine, executive vice president, and Paul Hughes, a retired Army colonel who is USIP's chief of staff, provided institutional context for potential avenues of future collaboration with the Task Force.