U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, commander of Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa, greets a student upon his arrival for the Maritime Center of Excellence opening ceremonies in Kenya, June 22. After three years of planning, the Kenyan Port Authority's Bandari College will host the Maritime Center of Excellence, a multinational and multi-agency forum promoting maritime safety and security in the region. By providing operational level training, the center hopes to improve and professionalize partner nations' maritime forces and build regional cooperation. Through a strategy of cooperative conflict prevention the task force helps build the internal capacities of countries at risk to prevail against extremists exploiting instability.