DEVILS LAKE, N.D. — A military base near Devils Lake has welcomed two Ghanaian Army soldiers as part of an Army National Guard instructor training program.
Captain Rita Opoku and Warrant Officer Cletus Baba arrived in North Dakota July 6 to participate in the State Partnership Program, the Devils Lake Journal reported.
"The class that these two professional officers are in is an army basic instructor course," said Major Raymond Ripplinger, who runs the program at Camp Grafton. "They'll be provided basic army techniques on how to conduct an army class, (and) they'll take that back and provide their army with some of that information so they can enhance their training."
The program began in 1991 and has since grown to include 76 counties, according to the National Guard. Guard units from all 50 states participate in the program, and Camp Grafton has partnered with Ghana for more than a decade.
"The fact that some of our soldiers get to go there, and they come here, it's awesome," said Sgt. 1st Class Paul Deegan, who is serving as a host to Opoku and Baba.
Opoku and Baba have served in the Ghana Army for decades.
"...Having a partnership with the U.S. Army seems to be very productive," Opoku said. "Our target is to get to where the U.S. is. We will be supported (by the U.S.) — to aim high is the point."
National Guard and Ghanaian soldiers benefit from the program, Ripplinger said.
"We really enjoy the fact that we have an information exchange," Ripplinger said. "When we go there, we are observing their training and how they conduct their military exercises so that we can learn different things that they do. We learn from them, and they learn from us."
Opoku and Baba will fly back to Ghana Monday.
