The U.S. military's efforts to help the people of Mali are a direct result of an ongoing relationship between U.S. and Malian forces that began shortly after the West African nation became democratic and committed itself to participate in peacekeeping, says Michael Macy, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako. Outlining a broad range of peacetime engagement activities in Mali in recent years, Macy says that nation "has continued to develop democratic institutions, and U.S. training has encouraged an appropriate role for the Malian military in the new democracy."

Many people believe that Timbuktu is a mythical place, a symbol for the end of the earth. However, Timbuktu is real, a city in Mali, West Africa. It is the legendary place where camels from the Sahara Desert meet canoes arriving on the Niger River -- the highway that has carried the trade of West Africa for at least two millennia. It is also the site where U.S. military personnel are now working with Malians to improve health care and education in their nation.

Mali is one of the world's least developed countries. Landlocked, its heart's blood is the Niger River that dissects the country. The Niger provides the water that sustains Mali's people and nourishes its agriculture. Timbuktu lies at the northernmost bend of the river, where it meets the Sahara. It was there that the grain, fish, and gold brought by boat were traded for the salt and goods from throughout the world that were carried by camels across the desert. This trade continues today when the salt caravans arrive in Timbuktu to trade with the Bozo boatmen who bring rice, fish, and grain.

Timbuktu was the elusive goal for European explorers for hundreds of years, only becoming truly accessible during this century. In 1998 General James Jamerson, Deputy Commander in Chief of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), followed the footsteps of those earlier explorers to Timbuktu. That visit led to U.S. military assistance for humanitarian and development projects in Timbuktu.

The U.S. Army's involvement in initiatives to help the people of Timbuktu was a direct result of an ongoing relationship between U.S. and Malian military forces. That relationship began shortly after Mali became democratic and committed itself to participate in peacekeeping.

The Malian army was instrumental in the overthrow of the dictatorship of Mousa Traoure in 1991. The officers who led that coup promised to hold free and fair elections, and they kept that promise in 1992. When civilian control of the Malian military was established, the U.S. Army began to provide assistance. Almost as soon as U.S. troops arrived in Mali, they began to include development projects as part of their training programs and volunteered to provide assistance to the communities they visited. The first contingents of U.S. troops in Mali were elements of the National Guard, who conducted two Civic Action Programs.

A U.S. Army National Guard unit from Tennessee held "sick calls," during which they offered medical services for civilians in 10 villages in the Sevare region in central Mali. The medical team provided vaccinations, vitamin supplements, and basic medical treatment to all of the residents of those villages. In the second initiative, elements from the Alabama Air National Guard reconstructed a kindergarten on a Malian military base in the same region. This school served both the base and civilians living in the area.

Malians and Americans are involved in peacetime engagement in other ways. In 1993 the first Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program, conducted by U.S. Special Operations Forces, took place in Mali. The JCET exercises have been held every year since then. During this program, the Malian Army participated in light infantry and peacekeeping exercises. In 1994 the U.S. Department of Defense made a major donation of equipment to Mali with the gift to the Ministry of Health of a field hospital including x-ray equipment, beds, exam tables, refrigerators, and other items.

As more U.S. military personnel became familiar with Mali, they wanted to increase efforts to promote the country's development, and another Civic Action Program was launched in 1995. As part of the initiative, 30 members of the Minnesota Army National Guard provided medical services in 10 villages in the Senou region near Mali's capital city of Bamako. That same year the Arkansas Air National Guard worked on a joint project with the Malian Air Force in which 20 U.S. airmen worked alongside 20 Malian servicemen to construct a new clinic at the Malian Air Force base in Senou. The project took a month and engendered even closer ties between U.S. and Malian military personnel. In 1995 the United States also conducted the first three phases of military justice training for the Malian armed forces under a program organized by the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS). This involved training both in Mali and the United States and focused on the role of the military in a democracy, civilian-military relations, and methods to assist Mali in developing a military justice system.

A joint Army, Air Force, and Navy medical team from USEUCOM Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, went to Mali in 1996 for a MEDFLAG military medical exercise. The team provided emergency medical and crisis response training for the Malian military medical staff. The exercise included an enactment of a simulated train wreck that was so realistic that many people were convinced it was real. The team also provided sick call services to the local area. Phase four of the military justice training was held that year, and the U.S. Department of Defense also donated two fire trucks to the city of Bamako.

There was an even greater expansion of military engagement in Mali in 1997 when three training exercises were held: two JCET exercises and the first Flintlock exercise, conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Flintlock program lasted for two months in Mali and involved one company of Malian troops and one company from Senegal. There also were observers from Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Benin, and Togo. The exercise included a development component, the construction of a school in Banankoro. The project was financed jointly by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Defense. Also in 1997 the U.S. Air Force provided transportation for the deployment of 680 Malian troops and 450 tons of equipment to Liberia to support peacekeeping. And the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program provided Mali with $350,000 for the training of pilots and mechanics to operate two reconditioned DC3 aircraft purchased from a U.S. company by the Malian Air Force.

All of this activity inspired General Jamerson to visit Mali, and he could not resist the lure of Timbuktu. His visit there led to the U.S. donation to the city of two utility vans and two water trucks -- gifts that symbolized the continuing close relationship between U.S. forces and the military and civilians of Mali.

In 1998, U.S. supplies including beds, surgical equipment, school items, and bicycles were donated to Timbuktu and Kidal. The U.S. Department of Defense also provided support for the renovation of the high school in Timbuktu and a clinic in Kidal and for the construction of a community school near Timbuktu. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2000. These projects are being carried out by two U.S.-supported charitable organizations -- Africare, in Timbuktu, and CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc.), in Kidal -- and are examples of the many elements of the American community working together in Mali.

Also in 1998, formal training began for Malian participation in the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI), a program to train and equip peacekeeping troops from a number of African nations. The initial training session ran from the beginning of February through March and involved a Malian battalion of 800 men and about 60 U.S. Special Forces instructors. During that time U.S. funding was provided to construct two clinics in the Sevare region. In November 1998, U.S. military personnel returned to Mali for a month to conduct sustainment training under the ACRI program. Phase five of the military justice training program also was held that year in Mali.

All of these activities culminated in the opening of a Defense Attache's (DAT) Office in the U.S. Embassy in Mali in 1999. It is expected that this will result in even closer ties between the U.S. and Mali. Along with the opening of the DAT office, there were a number of other activities in 1999. ACRI training continued, and Phase VI of the military justice training was held, along with a seminar on the role of the military in a democracy.

Throughout the past seven years, Mali has continued to develop democratic institutions, and U.S. training has encouraged an appropriate role for the Malian military in the new democracy. The Malian Army continues to build on its traditions of professionalism and has participated in a number of peacekeeping efforts throughout Africa. U.S. military personnel have played a supportive role in these efforts and have contributed to projects that have led to improved health care and education and other benefits for the people of Mali. Their helping hands have truly reached all the way to Timbuktu.