Every year, retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ed Furnish says he gets to celebrate two birthdays—one in September and one in October. The first is his actual birthday; the second is the anniversary of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) —an organization that holds a special meaning in his life since he was stationed here in 1959, when he arrived as a 17-year-old from a small farm in Indiana. Now 82 years old, Furnish was the oldest attendee at SETAF-AF’s 69th anniversary and had the honor of cutting the birthday cake alongside the youngest Soldier, Pvt. Corey Herbert Jr., at the celebration. They were joined by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Andrew C. Gainey, commanding general of SETAF-AF.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Multinational planners inked the final details for exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), increasing the number participants by nearly 50 percent. Joining Kenya as host nations, Tanzania and Djibouti will also conduct portions of the upcoming exercise, which features over 20 nations, nearly 1,500 participants and several new events.

VICENZA, Italy – Over 1,000 Soldiers from U.S. Army units across Europe, including 173rd Airborne Brigade and U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), as well as foreign partner soldiers, gathered at Caserma Del Din to earn the much-coveted Expert Soldier, Infantryman and Field Medical Badges, also known as the ‘E3B.’