U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael E. Ranneberger, (first row -2nd from left) and U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, (first row-center), commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, along with a mixed delegation of representatives attending the Maritime Center of Excellence opening ceremonies in Kenya on June 22, pose for a group photograph. After three years of planning, the Kenyan Port Authority's Bandari College will host the Maritime Center of Excellence, a multi-national 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.