About three decades ago, Kenya sent its first batch of soldiers to a war-torn country on a peacekeeping mission. The soldiers were sent to Chad under the auspices of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), currently the African Union (AU). Since then, more than 14,000 Kenyan troops have served as peacekeepers, particularly with the United Nations, in Africa and beyond. With 1,356 soldiers currently abroad under UN command, Kenya is ranked the 13th contributor in the world in terms of size of troop deployments.