Armed forces of Liberia 1st Lt. Dessaline Allison,

Armed forces of Liberia 1st Lt. Dessaline Allison, Headquarters AFL public affairs officer, right, instructs soldiers in public affairs procedures during the AFL’s first ever unit public affairs training at Edward Binyah Kesselly Military Barracks, April 4. During the one week course, soldiers learned basic news writing techniques, interview processes, media relations and basics of photographic journalism, along with other skills for use in telling the AFL story. The trainers for the course were Allison, a 2010 graduate of the public affairs qualification course at the U.S. Defense Information School, Fort George Meade, Md., and U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Mark Lazane of Apple Valley, Calif., a public affairs mentor to the AFL and member of Operation Onward Liberty, a group of approximately 50 U.S. military personnel who mentor and advise the AFL in order to develop a national military that is responsible, operationally capable, respectful of civilian authority and the rule of law, and is a force for good among the Liberian people.