JonathanJONeill

I have a couple of questions.

1. If you were to compare the level of training that these women receive to a military branch, what would they most represent in terms of hardship and skills? To clarify, would you say that the training these women receive is on par with what one would receive if they joined the Army, Marines, etc? I'm just using American branches as I am an American and know those more. Feel free to compare to other branches.

2. What sort of ratio in regards to arrests and/or approaching poachers are peaceful/violent? Are they mostly peaceful or do you regularly end up having to resort to violence in self-defense?

3. Have you had any serious injuries or deaths (unit members or poachers) during an arrest or approach? Poaching is big money to these people and I assume some aren't willing to just be arrested without a fight.

4. Are there plans to set up additional units in other parts of Africa? If not, what is the operational range of your current unit? Do you have access to helicopters or other means of transport to get to far-away areas?

I truly respect what you've done here. Africa has long needed a special force for wildlife protection and management.

Oh man, that's great to see. Thank you for answering my questions.

It's amazing that you've been able to accomplish so much without having to resort to violence. And I agree, de-escalation is a far better alternative to going in guns blazing. It's wonderful that they're trained to defend themselves but even more so that they haven't had to.

Follow-up question:

Do you think, at some point, the African government may endorse and help fund your unit once they see the progress you've made? Perhaps create it's own unit to work in conjunction with yours. Or is animal conservation not something high on their priority list?

Thank you for clarifying how things work over there.