On March 12, 2015, Deputy Chief of Mission Steven Koutsis attended the ACOTA (African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance) graduation ceremony in Loumbila, located at 25Km from Ouagadougou. This ceremony marks the end of 10 weeks training received from U.S. instructors. The Laafi 7 battalion will be deployed in Darfour in the following weeks, to participate in peacekeeping operations. Deputy Koutsis gave a speech where he reiterated the objective of the United States to strengthen military cooperation with Burkina Faso.
The United-States has given so far $60 million in military equipment to support the peacekeeping operations in Mali under the MINUSMA or joint United Nations and African Union in Darfur under the UNAMID or offered to the Anti-terrorists Company to strengthen the fight against terrorism and secures Burkina Faso borders, especially in the North.
