U.S. Africa Command-The First ThreeYears - March 2011

8/7/2019 U.S. Africa Command-The First ThreeYears - March 2011

1/140


2/140


3/140

ACOMMAND

FRICAUNITED STATES

The First Three Years ...

By the U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Ofce

Headquarters U.S. Africa Command

Kelley Barracks

Stuttgart, Germany - March 2011


4/140

Umuntu Ngumuntu NgamantuI am a person through other people.My humanity is tied to yours.

~ Zulu proverb


5/140

All protocols observed~ African diplomatic tradition

United States Africa CommandThe First Three Years ...

By the U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Staff

Publication and cover design byU.S. Army Staff Sergeant Claude Dixon

U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs Ofce

Photo page iii (Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngamantu) by U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Ofcer Jon E. McMillan

Photo page iv General William Ward portrait used with permission of Steve Barrett

Photo page 16 of Kelley Barracks in 1958 used with permission of Walter Elkins

Photo page 33 of General William Ward testifying before Congress, usedwith permission of David Hume Kennerly

Photo page 98 of Men shing in the port city of Lagos, Nigeria, by Robin Croft

Published March 2011 by U.S. Africa CommandKelley Barracks, Stuttgart-Moehringen, Germany

www.africom.mil


6/140

Foreword

This command is focused on the future. However, every once in a whileit does not hurt to pause for a moment, to survey our surroundings, toreect on what brought us to this point, and to assess whether we are stillon course toward our long-term goals. That is the spirit of this book.

It has been a great privilege and honor to be the rst commander ofUnited States Africa Command. The idea of creating a U.S. militaryheadquarters for Africa was under discussion for nearly a decade beforethe formal planning process began that led to U.S. Africa Command.There has since been much discussion and some debate as to whythe command was created at this specic time in our nations history.From my perspective, it was recognition of Africas importance in ourglobalized world.

I have asked my staff, as we go about our work, to look at the footprintswe leave behind. Are we proud of our accomplishments? Or do we hopethe wind and rain will quickly wash them away? Ive done my best tomake a lasting difference. But only time can be the nal judge of ourwords and deeds.

I am condent that in the years to come, people will see an Africa that issecure, stable, and developed in ways meaningful to its people and ourglobal society. I am equally condent that U.S. Africa Command has madeand will make positive contributions in this important endeavor.

General William Kip WardFirst commander of U.S. Africa Command

October 2007-March 2011


7/140

AFRICOMUnited States Africa Command, in concert with other U.S. governmentagencies and international partners, conducts sustained securityengagements through military-to-military programs, military-sponsoredactivities, and other military operations as directed to promote a stableand secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign policy.

~ U.S. Africa Command Mission Statement,approved May 2008


8/140

U.S. AFRICA COMMANDThe First Three Years

BEGINNINGS ... BEFORE AFRICOMDevelopment of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)..................................1

History of Kelley Barracks.........................15

AFRICOMs Heraldry..................................................................................................2

CONCEPT INTO ACTION

Transition Team Lays the foundation of AFRICOM......................................................27Behind the scenes of setting up AFRICOM.................................................35

Command Sergeant Majors impression of AFRICOM.........................................41

AFRICA TODAYInteragency Cooperation........................................................................................53

Directorate of Resources.........................................................................................55Directorate Strategy, Plans and Programs...................................................................57

Directorate of Intelligence and Knowledge Development...................59

Directorate of Operations and Logistics......................................61

Directorate of C4 Systems......................................................63


9/140

Directorate of Outreach..............................................65

Directorate of Joint Force Development and Readiness............67

Commanders Action Group............................................67

Ofce of the Foreign Policy Advisor.........................................................................................................70

Ofce of the Command Surgeon...............................................................................................................70Ofce of the Command Chaplain.............................................................................................................71

Ofce of the Inspector General..................................................................................................................72

Ofce of the Legal Counsel.........................................................................................................................73

Ofce of the Public Affairs.........................................................................................................................76

AFRICOM COMPONENT COMMANDS AND ACTIVITIESU.S. Army Africa..........81

U.S. Naval Forces Africa.............83

U.S. Air Forces Africa..............................85

U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa...................87

U.S. Special Operations Command Africa.......................89

Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa................91

Operation Enduring Freedom Trans-Sahara................93

Africa Partnership Station......................................95

ENGAGING AFRICAPhoto Gallery of Engagements..........97


10/140


11/140

Beginnings ...

before AFRICOMThe U.S. military has worked in and with Africa for decades. Often, that workwas reactive, episodic, and without long-term strategy.


12/140

The U.S. Africa Command was a concept long in themaking prior to the February 2007 announcement of itscreation.

Beginning with Morocco -- which in 1787 became therst nation to establish diplomatic relations with the newlyindependent United States -- U.S. strategic and defenseinterests have included Africa. However, before 2007, defense

engagement with the continent of Africa was viewed asan extension of geo-political environments elsewhere, andtherefore not a priority in its own right. The commandsestablishment was partly a recognition of the growingunsuitability of this approach, as well as the realization thatlong-term U.S. security objectives would be better servedthrough a dedicated geographic combatant commandexercising sustained security engagement with the nationsand regional organizations of Africa.

The U.S. military certainly has not been a stranger inAfrica, although throughout U.S. history the vast majority ofmilitary activities were comparatively small-scale, shorter-term in duration, and limited in their objectives. Someof the earliest U.S. military actions were against Barbarypirates along the North African coast in 1801-05, and againin 1815. In the early and mid-1800s, U.S. ships sometimestook part in anti-slavery patrols off the west coast of the

African continent. In 1912, the U.S. Army assigned an AfricanAmerican ofcer and other U.S. soldiers to train a Liberian

border force.The onset of World War II saw northern Africa serve

as a battleground of the European theater. Tens of thousandsof U.S. troops fought against German-led Axis powers inMorocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Today the graves of 2,841

Americans are honored at the North Africa AmericanCemetery and Memorial in the ancient city of Carthage.After World War II, U.S. military engagement with

Africa was principally viewed through a Cold War lens. U.S.troops were stationed in Morocco (including Nouasseur AirBase near Casablanca, Rabat Sal Air Base, and Port Lyautey,north of Rabat, until the early 1960s) and Libya (Wheelus AirBase near Tripoli until 1970), where they focused on dissuad-ing Soviet threats.

Discussions began in the 1980s and 1990s aboutcreating an organization focused solely on military relationswith the nations of Africa. This was spurred in part bythe U.S. Defense Departments 1983 Unied CommandPlan, which assigned responsibility for military-to-militaryrelations with African countries. But the initial organizationwas a patchwork, with Africa split between initially four, andlater three, U.S. regional headquarters. The newly created

U.S. Africa Command:

A Journey of Decades

1


13/140

U.S. Central Command was assigned to workwith Horn of Africa nations; U.S. EuropeanCommand was assigned with the majority ofAfrican nations; U.S. Pacic Command wasassigned with the island nations in the IndianOcean (and, for a time U.S. Atlantic Commandworked with island nations in the Atlantic).

However, none of these headquarters hadAfrica as a primary or even secondary focus.Consequently engagements tended to beepisodic, reactive, short-term, and limited intheir objectives.

With the end of the Cold War in 1989-91and the subsequent uncertainty and localizedconicts that followed, the U.S. found itselfintervening in a number of African crises.

In the early 1990s, U.S. troops took partin evacuations of American Embassies inLiberia, Somalia, Zaire (now the DemocraticRepublic of Congo), and Sierra Leone. In1992, U.S. military aircraft transportedthousands of Angolans as part of widerUnited Nation support to that nations rstelections. In Somalia, widespread famineled to a large-scale U.S. deployment in late

1992. Initially sent to guard humanitarian

14th CENTURY KING - This bronze image of a ruler of the

kingdom of Ife, in modern-day Nigeria, was created in the1300s and today is one of the prized masterpieces in the

British Museum in London. Arts and culture have ourishedfor thousands of years across Africa, a continent of 1 billionpeople, more than 1,000 languages and more than 50 nations,each with its own distinct history. (AFRICOM photo by VinceCrawley)

2


14/140

shipments, the U.S. and U.N. missionscontroversially evolved into the use offorce to intervene in hopes of reducingSomalias inter-clan conict. The U.S.role in Somalia is widely associatedwith the October 1993 battle inMogadishu that killed 18 U.S. soldiers

and hundreds of Somalis, resulting in aU.S. withdrawal. However, OperationProvide Relief, the U.S. militaryhumanitarian airlift to Somalia, alsosaved an estimated 100,000 to 200,000lives.

Even as international forces were

withdrawing from Somalia, the nationof Rwanda erupted into ethnic violenceand the genocidal murder of up to 1million people. When hundreds ofthousands of ethnic Hutu ed to theneighboring Lake Kivu region in formerZaire, widespread cholera led to the

U.S. SUPPORT

TO ECOMOG 1997 -

Malian troopsdisembark at Roberts

International Airport

outside Monrovia in

1997 after being

transported by a

U.S. Air Force C-130

Hercules aircraft

home-based in

Germany. The U.S.

military provided

transport and some

logistical supportfor an Economic

Community Military

Observation Group

(ECOMOG) mission

in which West Africa

states deployed

approximately 600

peacekeepers to

Liberia.

(U.S. Air Force photoby Staff Sergeant

Paul R. Caron)

3


15/140

brief deployment of a EUCOM task force in the summerof 1994 that brought fresh water into overcrowdedrefugee camps.

These served to demonstrate the shortcomingof previous U.S. approaches to African militaryengagement. Somalia and Rwanda led to ever-widendiscussion of the appropriate role for the U.S. military in

Africa. American public opinion was hesitant to repeatany Somalia-scale U.S. involvement, but the massivedeath toll of the Rwandan genocide highlighted themoral consequences of inaction. African leaders weregrappling with the same issues, and their discussionscentered on nding African-led security solutions. TheOrganization of African Unity, a precursor to todaysAfrican Union, continued to evolve as an organizationincreasingly seeking to play a meaningful role in African

security and stability.In 1997, U.S. special operations troops began

training African peacekeepers as part of a U.S.Department of State program called the African CrisisResponse Initiative (ACRI). ACRI emphasized Africasrole in addressing regional security, but offered U.S. andinternational training and logistics assistance. Senegaland Uganda were the rst nations to participate. Sincethen, the program has evolved into the Department

of States African Contingency Operations TrainingAssistance (ACOTA) program. Between ACRI andACOTA, the U.S. has trained approximately 200,000African peacekeepers from close to two dozen nations.

Along with peacekeeper training, the year 1997also saw the beginning of military academic discussionon the importance of Africa and the creation of a U.S.Africa command.

FLOODS IN 2000 - The ooded Limpopo River in March 2000 winds through southern

Mozambique. Floodwaters drove 1 million people from their homes. The U.S. military

and neighboring countries, such as South Africa, deployed helicopters and troops to

help with emergency services and to assist in humanitarian relief deliveries. (U.S. Air

Force photo by Technical Sergeant Cary Humphries)

MOZAMBIQUE (below) - During the Mozambique oods of March 2000, U.S. Air Forcepersonnel assist local workers in preparing pallets of humanitarian aid for airlift

delivery at the international airport in Maputo, Mozambique. Senior Airman Jad Aoun

and Technical Sergeant Dennis Washington were air transportation specialists from

Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In the years that followed, the U.S. military worked to help

the Mozambique military build the capability to better respond to natural disasters. As a

result, during devastating oods of 2007 the Mozambique military was able to respond

to the crisis with much less outside assistance. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant

Ken Bergmann)


16/140

DoD [theDepartment of Defense]must have a regional orsub-unied commandthat can provide a full-time focus on Africa, Dr.C. William Fox, a military

physician and lieutenantcolonel, wrote in a widelycirculated study. DoD canno longer afford simply towait and react to the nextcrisis in Africa. A regionalcommand separate from theU.S. European Command orthe U.S. Central Command

should be establishedto evaluate, plan andexecute regional militaryexercises and operations.Foxs monograph, titledMilitary Medical Operations in Sub-Saharan Africa: TheDoD Point of the Spear for a New Century, was selectedas a Distinguished Essay in a 1997 Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff writing competition. Fox went on to retire as a

brigadier general.In 1998, the U.S. Air Force Academy published a 70-

page study by Army Colonel Dan Henk, titled UnchartedPaths, Uncertain Vision: U.S. Military Involvements inSub-Saharan Africa in the Wake of the Cold War. Henk,too, recommended a unied command focused on Africa.Largely as an accident of Cold War history, different partsof Africa fall within the area of responsibility of four separate

unied commands, hewrote. ... This situationpractically guarantees thatpolicy implementationwill take very differentforms in differing uniedcommands. The situation

makes it difcult torationalize U.S. militaryinvolvements in regional/subregional organizations.There should be oneunied command forAfrica and its surroundingislands.

Through the mid-

1990s, EUCOM and theDefense Department,encouraged by the HouseInternational RelationsCommittee of the U.S.

Congress, explored ways to create an Africa security studiesinstitute. This military academic institution would becomparable to regional defense centers focused on areassuch as Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In March 1998,

President Bill Clinton made a major trip to sub-SaharanAfrica to discuss promoting U.S.-Africa partnership basedon mutual respect and mutual interest. During the visit, hementioned the establishment of a security studies centerfor Africa, patterned after EUCOMs George C. MarshallEuropean Center for Security Studies in Germany. In March1999, the Pentagon formally established the Africa Center forStrategic Studies (ACSS) in the Washington, D.C., area. The

PARTNERS - In November 2001, South African military personnel and U.S. Marines

walk along a beach near Laaiplek, South Africa, after a training exercise. Following

the end of apartheid and with democratic elections in 1994, the South African NationalDefence Force built strong working relationships with U.S. military counterparts. (U.S.Navy photo by Petty Ofcer 1st Class Tina M. Ackerman)

5


17/140

center hosts academicprograms of Africanand internationalstudents and securityprofessionals toidentify and resolvesecurity challenges in

ways that promote civil-military cooperation,respect for democraticvalues, and safeguardhuman rights,according to the ACSSmission statement.

In 2000,Parameters, the journal

of the U.S. Army WarCollege, published anarticle explicitly callingfor the creation of a U.S.command for Africa,titled, A CINC forSub-Saharan Africa?Rethinking the UniedCommand Plan (the acronym CINC

referred to commander in chief, theformer title of four-star regional militarycommanders). The author, CommanderRichard Catoire, focused his essay onthe idea of creating an AFRICOM-likeorganization. U.S. policy alone cannotsolve Africas many problems, noreven necessarily secure all of Americas

regional interests there, Catoire wrote,

but a unied command with exclusiveresponsibility for Sub-Saharan Africawould provide many advantages. Itwould bring the constant attention ofsenior U.S. military planners to Africansecurity issues and facilitate long-term,coherent programs to shape the regionalenvironment.

The September 2001terrorist attacks in the UnitedStates led to a reassessmentof U.S. security worldwide,including in Africa, whichalready had been the sceneof two deadly U.S. Embassy

terror bombings in 1998,in Kenya and Tanzania.In early 2002, CENTCOMdeployed Combined JointTask Force-Horn of Africa toCamp Lemonnier, a formerFrench base in Djibouti. Inthe trans-Sahara region,EUCOM expanded special

operations training withlocal militaries in support ofState Department programsthat sought to counterviolent ideologies, rstunder the 2002 Pan-SahelInitiative, then the 2005 Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism

Partnership.

Discussion of a possible Africacommand moved from scholarly

journals to the mainstream news media.No AFRICOM Yet, noted a 2002Voice of America story, outlining thecreation of a U.S.-based NORTHCOM.Africa Command? Time Might BeRight for Its Creation, read a U.S.

PEACEKEEPER TRAINING IN WEST AFRICA - In July 2001, a U.S. special operationssoldier reviews platoon-level procedures as part of Operation Focus Relief, whichhelped prepare troops from three West African nations for peacekeeping in SierraLeone, in Sokoto, Nigeria. From August 2000 to December 2001, elements of the 3rd

Special Forces Group deployed to western Africa to train units from Nigeria, Ghana andSenegal to conduct peace-enforcement operations in Sierra Leone. The initiative was

announced to the Nigerian National Assembly by President Bill Clinton in August 2000and typied the growing U.S. security partnership with Africa in the 1990s and early

2000s. (U.S. Atlantic Fleet photo by Petty Ofcer 1st Class Jim Hampshire)

6


18/140

magazine headline in 2004. WithinAfrica, decades of colonial legacy meantthat media discussions were largelyagainst any U.S. military presence.However, in mid-2004, a Nigeriannewspaper columnist wrote an editorialcalled, The Long Overdue U.S. Africa

Command that pointed out regionalbenets such an organization mightbring.

By 2006, the EUCOM commandernoted that members of the EUCOMstaff in Stuttgart, Germany, werespending more than half their timefocused on Africa issues. Discussionsfor a possible Africa command moved

from the academic to the policy arena.In 2002, the Organization of AfricanUnity was formally superseded by theAfrican Union, with a stronger mandatefor promoting peace and securityamong member states. In it growingcoordination with the AU, the EUCOMstaff increasingly found itself workingwith CENTCOM nations, including

Ethiopia, where the AU was seated.In July 2006, former Defense

Secretary Donald Rumsfeld attendeda routine brieng on potential changesto the Unied Command Plan. Hedirected that EUCOM form a planningteam to advise on requirementsfor establishing a new command

arrangement for U.S. military interestson the African continent. Pre-decisionaldiscussions included whether to includeHorn of Africa nations into the newcommand, and how to best organizethe command to support non-militaryagencies of the U.S. government

working in Africa. Internal documentssometimes used the term USAFCOMwhile others used AFRICOM. At thetime, EUCOMs deputy commanderwas General William Ward, who thefollowing summer would be nominatedas the rst commander of U.S. AfricaCommand. Its okay if it doesntlook like other COCOMs [combatant

commands], Ward told planners,according to the minutes of an August25, 2006, meeting. He stressed lookingfor innovative processes rather thana traditional military headquartersstructure. The EUCOM teams deadlinewas September 15.

The ongoing study for thecommand was mentioned by Rumsfeld

and then Chairman of the Joint ChiefsGeneral Peter Pace at a Pentagon TownHall meeting September 22, 2006.Rumsfeld and Pace noted it was unclearwhether the study would recommenda separate command or a sub-uniedcommand.

Rumsfeld was soon briefed

that the EUCOM team recommendedcreating a separate command with anon-traditional structure, focused ontraditional military tasks as well asan emphasis on non-combat militaryroles such as capacity building andtheater security cooperation. The

planners recommended integrating staffmembers from non-military agenciesof the federal government into thecommand, not as liaisons but as actualstaff members, to provide more effectivemilitary support to non-defenseagencies of the U.S. government. Inan initiative that would later hauntAFRICOM, the EUCOM planners

strongly recommended having a portionof the commands ofces located withinAfrica, with personnel accompanied bytheir families, as a way to demonstratelong-term U.S. commitment to Africassecurity and stability.

In late October 2006, Rumsfeldapproved the creation of an interagencyImplementation Planning Team in

Washington, D.C., that includedrepresentatives of the U.S. Departmentof State, the U.S. Agency forInternational Development (USAID),and other federal agencies workingin Africa. This team worked throughNovember and outlined the AFRICOMcommand structure, to include

7


19/140

recommending a non-military deputy,and half-military, half-civilian staff. Inearly December 2006, after Rumsfeldannounced he would resign as secretaryof defense, he forwarded the AFRICOM

recommendation to then-PresidentGeorge W. Bush, who on December15 approved the creation of a separatecommand for Africa.

On February 6, 2007, the new

defense secretary, Robert Gates, publiclyannounced to the Senate ArmedServices Committee that President Bushhad given authority to create the newAfrica Command.

ARRIVING INDJIBOUTI, 2003 -

A U.S. civil affairsteam in February 2003meets with villageleaders in Douda,

Djibouti, to discussconcerns they mighthave with U.S.personnel movinginto the nearby CampLemonnier, a vacant

French base. TheU.S. military began toestablish a presencein Djibouti in late 2002and early 2003 as partof Combined Joint

Task Force - Horn ofAfrica. Pictured areSergeant First ClassSteven Ruscitto(right) and SergeantJoseph Kilmer, 354th

Civil Affairs Brigade,meeting with AliWaberi Asowe,villiage chief of GrandDouda, as well as aninterpreter (in whiteshirt).(U.S. Air Force photoby Staff SergeantCherie A. Thurlby)

8


20/140

The president,Gates testied, hasdecided to stand up anew, unied combatantcommand, AfricaCommand, to overseesecurity cooperation,

building partnershipcapability, defense supportto nonmilitary missions,and, if directed, militaryoperations on the Africancontinent. This commandwill enable us to havea more effective andintegrated approach than

the current arrangementof dividing Africa betweenCentral Command andEuropean Command, anoutdated arrangement leftover from the Cold War.

Gates added, This department [Department of Defense]will consult closely with the Congress and work with ourEuropean and African allies to implement this effort.

The same day, the White House issued a statement byPresident Bush, who emphasized, This new command willstrengthen our security cooperation with Africa and createnew opportunities to bolster the capabilities of our partnersin Africa. Africa Command will enhance our efforts to bringpeace and security to the people of Africa and promoteour common goals of development, health, education,democracy, and economic growth in Africa. The White

House announcementalso contained a referenceto the U.S. interest inhaving AFRICOM ofcesin proximity to Africanregional leaders. We will

be consulting with African

leaders to seek theirthoughts on how AfricaCommand can respondto security challengesand opportunities inAfrica, the announcementsaid. We will also workclosely with our Africanpartners to determine

an appropriate locationfor the new command inAfrica.

Throughout2006, U.S. news media

widely reported on the behind-the-scenes planning to createAFRICOM. Still, the February 2007 public announcementcaught many African leaders and opinion leaders by surprise.News media, public gures and political commentators

began wide discussion and speculation about the embryoniccommand. Much debate focused on potential locations inAfrica for the command. This, in turn, was often interpretedas a quest for basing locations for numerous U.S. combatunits. Consultation visits were misinterpreted as hunts for

basing, and several public gures made strong statementsrejecting basing rights for U.S. combat troops. Shortly afterthe command was activated in October 2007, Ward and his

A member of a U.S. Army water purication team kneels on top of water truck, preparing

to draw water from Lake Kivu, then chlorinate the water and transport it to the Kibumba

refugee camp near Goma, Zaire, (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in December1994. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Rose Reynolds)

9


21/140

staff made the decision to postponethe headquarters location questionindenitely because it distracted fromthe primary mission of the command,which was to build relationships andsustained programs.

Wards rst visit as commander of

AFRICOM was to the African Union inAddis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November8, 2007. The United States is linked toAfrica by history, culture, economics,and a respect for human dignity, Wardtold African Union reporters during anews conference. Africa and its islandnations comprise a continent full ofpromise and unlimited potential. My

goal as commander of U.S. AFRICOM isto build an enduring organization -- ourefforts are committed to sustained andfocused engagement that benets boththe citizens of the countries of Africaand the United States.

The issue of basing andheadquarters location continues topersist in discussions about AFRICOM,

and likely will linger for years to come.During his address to the

Ghanaian Parliament in June 2009,President Barack Obama spoke atlength about U.S. partnership in Africa.

We welcome the steps that arebeing taken by organizations like theAfrican Union and ECOWAS to better

resolve conicts, to keep the peace, andsupport those in need. And we encourage

the vision of a strong, regional securityarchitecture that can bring effective,transnational forces to bear whenneeded. America has a responsibility towork with you as a partner to advancethis vision, not just with words, butwith support that strengthens Africancapacity, President Obama said.

... And thats why we standready to partner through diplomacy

and technical assistance and logisticalsupport, he continued, adding, ... Andlet me be clear: Our Africa Command isfocused not on establishing a footholdin the continent, but on confrontingthese common challenges to advancethe security of America, Africa, and theworld.

RWANDA CRISIS - Refugees from Rwandas bitter civil war gather with makeshift containers to carry cleandrinking water, chlorinated and transported by the U.S. military in 1994 in Goma, Zaire (now the DemocraticRepublic of Congo). (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Rose Reynolds)

10


22/140

OPERATION FOCUS

RELIEF 2001

-- Deputy Chief ofMission to Senegal

Terence P. McCulleyand Senegalese Army

Chief of Staff (for groundforces) General Ndiayereview Senegalese and

U.S. units at theopening ceremony of

peacekeeper training inJune 2001. Known as

Operation Focus Relief,

from late 2000 thoughlate summer 2001, U.S.

special operationstroops trained with sevenWest African battalions -from Nigeria, Ghana andSenegal - as preparationfor West African supportthe UN Mission in SierraLeone. (Photo courtesy

of U.S. Embassy Dakar)

Africas most valuable resource is not its oil, its notits diamonds; it is the talent and creativity of its people.

~ President George W. BushFebruary 2008

11


23/140

AFRICAN SKY - U.S. Navy Petty Ofcer 2nd Class Shane T. McCoy was the 1999 Military Photographer of the Year, and his portfolio included this image, titled

African Sky. A South African paratrooper walks in the twilight through II MEF Marine Forces Unitas camp in Saint Helena Bay, South Africa in November 1999.

U.S. troops were in South Africa as part of the West African Training Cruise. (U.S.Navy photo by Petty Ofcer 2nd Class Shane T. McCoy)

12


24/140

MEDFLAG 1988 IN GABON - The U.S. military has a long history of joint training with African partners. Here U.S. and Gabonese military medical

personnel participate in MEDFLAG 88, a medical training exercise in August 1988 in Leconi, Gabon. U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel

based in Germany, Italy and the U.S. took part. The exercise included practicing to assist during a mass-casualty situation, followed by civic actionand preventive health visits to the local community. (Department of Defense photo by Sergeant Paul Tubridy)

13


25/140

1991 WEST AFRICA TRAINING CRUISE (above left) - Several ofcers from

West African nations speak with Commander T. M. Hayes, left, commandingofcer of the USS Barnstable County (LST-1197), during its journey from Brazil

to the Congo at the start of the 1991 West Africa Training Cruise in November1991. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Ofcer 1st Class Michael D. P. Flynn)

U.N. WITHDRAWAL FROM SOMALIA (above) - In January 1995, personnel

from the 16th Special Operations Squadron set up temporary tents as their

operations center at an airport in East Africa. U.S. Air Force aircraft brought

in material and equipment to support the withdrawal of United Nations

peacekeepers from Mogadishu, Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by AirmanFirst Class R. S. Mallard)

SOUTH AFRICANS IN BULGARIA NATO EXCERCISE (left) - Linking Bulgaria

to South Africa during Combined Endeavor 2004, Republic of South Africa

Corporal MPumelelo Walton Mahote, left, contractor Andre Van Heerden,center, and Sergeant Lekalalala Matome communicate with Pretoria, Republic

of South Africa, over a high frequency radio from Camp Sarafovo in Bulgaria,

May 2004. Combined Endeavor 2004 was a U.S. European Command-sponsored exercise, designed to identify and document command, control,communications and computer interoperability between North Atlantic TreatyOrganization and Partnership for Peace nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff

Sergeant Karen Silcott)

14


26/140

Kelley Barracks military history beganin 1937, when the German military purchasednursery land from the city of Moehringen for 50

Reichspfenning per square meter.Construction of the kasernebegan in January 1938. Thepurchase was a contentious one,as the land was rich and highlyvalued and the German militarydid not pay the amount requested.The military did, however, agreenot to cut more than 20 percent of

the wooded area, which resulted inthe unique beauty of the post as itis today.

The rst contingent oftroops of the 5th Air Signal Unitoccupied temporary quarters inApril. Helenen Kaserne ofciallyopened on May 7, 1938, with aparade, reworks, dancing and

an open house. The kaserne(barracks) housed commandand staff, and ve companies ofthe Air Signal Regiment, whosemission was to construct and

maintain airstrips and aircraft communications.The 5th Air Signal moved to France in 1940.Elements of Air Signal occupied the kaserne

throughout the war years, and the kaserneultimately housed 2,500 soldiers. HeadquartersAir Region V reoccupied the kaserne in 1944when the headquarters returned from Paris. TheHeadquarters remained until April 1945 when itmoved east toward Ulm to escape the advancing

French Army.The kaserne became an American

installation on December 5, 1945, and was thenreferred to as the Stuttgart Post. The 7700thTroop Information and Education Group was therst U.S. unit to occupy the post in August 1947.A constabulary unit took over the installation inFebruary 1948 and remained until 1951.

Brief history of Kelley Barracks

Lieutenant General James Maurice Jumpin

Jim Gavin, who at the time was U.S. Armys

Chief of Research and Development, in-spects the troops at Kelley Barracks on June

5, 1956.

Jayhawk Theatre at Kelley Barracks in 1956.

15


27/140

The VII Corps Headquarters Building in 1958 at Kelley Barracks. Today, that drive-though arch is no longer there and the AFRICOM Headquarters is the building on

the right of the photo. (Photo courtesy of Walter Elkins)

Not until after the arrival ofVII Corps in November 1951, was

the kaserne renamed Kelley Barracksin honor of Staff Sergeant Jonah E.Kelley, a VII Corps infantryman (311thInfantry, 78th), on May 1952, who wasposthumously awarded the Medal ofHonor for heroism in World War II.

The kaserne underwent majorconstruction projects in the 1950s.

Some of the projects includedconstruction of family housing, the

theater and the gym.Other units at Kelley Barracks

included the 84th Army Band, amilitary policy platoon, a SpecialTroops Battalion, a signal detachment,an Air Force Air Support OperationsCenter, and the headquarters of the 14thMilitary Police Group.

VII Corps Headquarters wasinactivated in 1992. Kelley Barracks

was then the headquarters of the 6thArea Support Group which changedits designation to U.S. Army GarrisonStuttgart. The garrison headquarterswas relocated to Panzer Barracks in 2007to make way for the new U.S. AfricaCommand.

The AFRICOM Transition Team16


28/140


29/140

ABOVE: The wooden Africa map made by Michael Quantrell, the Kelley Barracks craft shop manager, was placed at the commands

headquarters on April 15, 2009. The wooden map took more than 125 hours to nish incorporating 20 different kinds of wood. (AFRI-COM photo by Vincent Crawley)

OPPOSITE PAGE: AFRICOM Headquarters at Kelley Barracks. (AFRICOM photo by Staff Sergeant Claude Dixon)

commenced workat Kelly Barracks onFebruary 1, 2007.AFRICOM stood upon Kelley Barracksas a sub-uniedcommand on

October 1, 2007.Since thearrival of AFRICOM,Kelley Barrackshas undergoneeven more majorrenovations ofthe ofce areas,family quarters and

Kelley Club; andconstruction of aChild DevelopmentCenter and AAFESShoppette.

Most of theinformation presentedhere was based

on a paper titledBrief History ofKelley Barracks,a compilation fromthe U.S. EuropeanCommands CommandHistory archives dated

January 13, 2004.18


30/140

KELLEY BARRACKS - Hikers, a bicyclist and a roller-blader pass outside Kelley Barracks on a Sunday afternoon in early 2011. The installation sits beside

farm elds and orchards on the edge of Stuttgart-Moehringen, Germany. In the background of the photo, administrative ofces from Germanys Daimler

Corporation are a neighborhood landmark. (AFRICOM photo by Vince Crawley)

19


31/140

COLD WAR MEMORIAL(left) - A segment offortied East German

fencing and a piece of theBerlin Wall stand insidethe front gate of KelleyBarracks (the Kelley Hotelis in the background). TheCold War artifacts serveas a memorial to the role

the U.S. military played inthe peaceful reunication

of Europe. After decades

of tension, East Germany

opened its borders inNovember 1989, settingthe course of a wave ofdemocratic revolutionsacross Central Europe.

(AFRICOM photo byVince Crawley)

MEMORIAL TO FREEDOM (right) - A memorial

to the U.S. Armys VII Corps is a prominentlandmark on Kelley Barracks. From the late 1940s

through 1990, VII Corps was responsible fordefending southern Germany. The text on the

memorial says, Commemorating four generationsof VII soldiers and their contributions to world

freedom. The memorial also provides informationon Staff Sergeant Jonah E. Kelley, posthumously

awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor in WorldWar II. (AFRICOM photo by Vince Crawley)


32/140

21


33/140

The AFRICOM insignia was designed by Colonel Brian Perry

22


34/140

MARITIME PARTNERS - A Togolese defender-class patrol boat comes alongside the guided-missile frigate USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) as

part of visit, board, search and seizure training with U.S. and Togolese sailors during Africa Partnership Station West in the Gulf of Guinea in

February 2011. (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Sean J. McMahon)

23


35/140

AFRICOM into ActionAs we build U.S. Africa Command, we want to talk to people about what the U.S. mili-

tary is doing in Africa. Just as importantly, I want everyone on the staff to also listen andlearn. In the weeks and months ahead, I have told the staff to focus on a few importantpoints:

1. We are building the team. We have the opportunity, vision, and determination toredene how the U.S. military cooperates with and complements the efforts of its U.S.,international, and nongovernmental partners in Africa.

2. AFRICOM will add value and do no harm to the collective and substantial ongoing

efforts on the Continent.

3. AFRICOM seeks to build partnerships to enable the work of Africans in providing fortheir own security. Our intent is to build mutual trust, respect, and condence with ourpartners on the Continent and our international friends.

I realize the U.S. military plays only a very small role in the international, inter genera-tional work taking place on the Continent and its island nations. But we want our workto matter, and we want to do our work well. Years from now we want Africans and

Americans to be able to say AFRICOM made a difference a positive difference.

~ General William Kip WardDecember 2007

24


36/140


37/140

MEDICAL OUTREACH (above) - U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Alicia

Mangan takes the temperature of a young boy in July 2008, in a villageoutside of Bamako, Mali. U.S. service members traveled to four villages

administering treatment, as part of a multinational medical trainingexercise called MEDFLAG 08. In addition to treating thousands of patients,

the medical team provided training for doctors, medics, and nurses andvaccinated livestock in the region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior AirmanJustin Weaver)

NURSING STUDENTS (left) - Nursing students of the Dire Dawa, Ethiopia,

Arts Medical College go home-to-home distributing doses of dewormingmedications during the second phase of a Medical Civic Action Programin October 2010. With assistance from the U.S. Army Civil Affairs BattalionSpecialty Team, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, the nursing

students administered medications to more than 900 children in seven

villages in the Shinile Zone (Woreda) of Dire Dawa. (U.S. Air Force photoby Staff Sergeant Kathrine McDowell)

DENTAL OUTREACH (opposite page) - Africa Partnership Staton Nashville

treated dental patients in April 2009 in Limbre, Cameroon. Lieutenant

Commander Shay Razmi examines a patient amid a group of people

waiting to be seen. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Ofcer 3rd Class Matthew

Bookwalter)

26

Th d f AFRICOM T i i T


38/140

The stand up of AFRICOMs Transition TeamThe Department of Defense (DoD), and the Ofce of

the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) sent a message titledUnied Command Plan (UCP) 2007 to the U.S. EuropeanCommand (EUCOM).

In essence, the August 18, 2006, message instructed

EUCOM to assist in the stand-up of a new combatantcommand, to be called U.S. Africa Command.

The initiative spent the next four months workingits way through the DoD chain of command, leading topresidential approval and a decision to create an AFRICOMTransition Team at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.

On Friday, January 5, 2007, at 3:11 p.m. a planning teammet at EUCOM Headquarters, Patch Barracks, to discuss thestand-up of AFRICOM.

Those gathered were excited and positive about thestart up. They were a small group of military ofcers fromthe various services. They didnt know it, but they wouldmake up the core of the new command.

By 1 February 2007, have Kelley Barracks Building3306 ready for occupation by 60 members of the AFRICOMtransition team said Marine Major General William Catto,the EUCOM chief of staff.

Move out old furniture, perform general cleanup andpainting, move in used (but good condition) furniture, thegeneral ordered the garrison commander and his deputy andrepresentative from the EUCOMs staff. Provide computerand network printer access for each person. Get a telephonefor each person. Provide access and ofce space in theKelley.

Make access available to the building for the above

tasks, he demanded, then continued, Some form ofadvance party will stand up and assign faces to spaces,ideally before 1 February. He paused, then continued,The Property Book Ofcer, Purchase Card holder, buildingcustodian, security manager, will be assigned. Sufcient

safes will be available.He went on to say to the assembled ofcers, The ofce

of the Secretary of Defense and the folks working the newcommands initial planning team in Washington, D.C., will

be asking for a personnel contribution to the transition teamin Stuttgart which is scheduled to arrive in Stuttgart duringFeb 06.

My assumption, he continued, is that any name weplace on the transition team will likely become a permanent

member of the new command. Also, as professionals,we need to do our best to make EUCOM and AFRICOMsuccessful in the long term.

He emphasized that his direction to EUCOMs seniorleadership was to nominate ofcers that it hurts EUCOMto lose, but the loss must not cripple their directorate; in thenear term, ofcers and civilian professionals with militarypersonnel and installation experience will be the most usefulto the new command as they stand up/establish themselvesat Kelley.

He added, Comptroller experience will be helpful andintelligence requirements and command and control will becritical for the stand up and transition.

He ended the meeting abruptly by saying, Id like tosee a principal from the J-1, J-2, J-4, J-6, and Comptroller onTuesday afternoon to discuss requirements. The operations

27


39/140

AFRICOM Transition Team as of October 1, 2007

28


40/140

and planning folks will be required, but later in the calendaryear.

The generals nal words were to, prep the spaces justlike we would want them prepared if we were to move in

there.Weeks later, as it turned out, Building 3306s occupants

intended to stay where they were, and so only the attic wascleared for the new team.

U.S. Africa Command staff at senior leader off-site conference in Mainz, Germany, 2008

29

The transition teams Colonel David Miller complicated reporting procedures and a potential


41/140

The transition team s Colonel David Millerspoke to those gathered. His voice started low butpicked up in tempo and resonated throughout theattic area.

The establishment of a new geographiccombatant command for Africa with initialoperational capability on 1 October 2007 and full

operational capability on 30 September 2008 bringsmany challenges, Miller said. One of thosechallenges will be to effectively transfer existingmissions, activities, programs, and exercises fromU.S. European Command, U.S. Central Commandand U.S. Pacic Command to USAFRICOM withminimal degradation in mission accomplishment.

We must throughout the transfer process demonstrate to our African partners that

USAFRICOM is an organization that will effectivelyaddress both U.S. and African interests.Key planning principles and considerations

are that USAFRICOM will not accept responsibilityfor a mission unless it has adequate capacity toeffectively execute it and the transfer is mutuallyagreed to by the losing combatant commandcommander and the commander, USAFRICOM.The end result will be minimal or no degradation in

mission accomplishment/effectiveness through thetransfer process.

Any transfer must be acceptable; that is, theintended benet of transferring prior to FOC [thedate of full unied combatant command status]must not exceed the potential cost or risk. Costor risk could come in the form of lack of unity ofcommand, unclear lines of command-and-control,

complicated reporting procedures, and a potential

degradation of established relationships within the

AOR (area of operation).

He said not to expect that AFRICOM would

reach the approved manpower requirement until

the 2nd quarter of scal year 2008 at the earliest.

He then read from a letter: This newcommand will strengthen our security cooperation

with Africa and help to create new opportunities

to bolster the

capabilities of our

partners in Africa.

Africa Command will

enhance our efforts to

help bring peace andsecurity to the people

of Africa and promote

our common goals of

development, health,

education, democracy,

and economic growth

in Africa. Signed, President George Bush, February7, 2007.

The team then went to work to establish U.S.

Africa Command.

By Brian D. Perry Sr.

Retired Army Colonel Perry was a member

of AFRICOMs Transition Team30


42/140

Left to right, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; Henrietta H. Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International

Developement and director of U.S. Foreign Assistance; Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; ag bearer; U.S. Africa Command Commander

General William E. Ward; and AFRICOM Command Sergeant Major Mark S. Ripka stand together after the unfurling of the ag during the

AFRICOM Unied Command Activation ceremony in the Pentagon Conference Center, Washington, D.C., October 1, 2008. (Department of

Defense photo by Petty Ofcer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess)

31


43/140

General William E. Ward, AFRICOM commander, salutes the color guard during the commands establishment ceremony at Kelley Barracks. AFRICOM was ofcially

established October 1, 2008. (AFRICOM photo by Staff Sergeant Samuel Bendet)

32


44/140

Africa Union speaker Brigadier General Jean De Martha Jaotody at

AFRICOMs establishment ceremony October 17, 2008, at Kelley

Barracks. AFRICOM was activated October 1. (AFRICOM photo byMichael J. Morris)

U.S. Africa Commands two deputies to the commander, Vice Admiral Robert T. Moellerand Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, speak with reporters on the steps of the Presidencyin Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, following a meeting with President Blaise Compaore,chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, on November 28, 2007.

(AFRICOM photo)

Our children may learn about theheroes of the past. Our task is to makeourselves the architects of the future.

~ Jomo Kenyatta,first president of Kenya

General William Kip Ward, commander of AFRICOM, testies before

the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 9, 2010, in Washington,D.C. (Photo courtesy of David Hume Kennerly)

33


45/140

HONORING FALLEN AMERICANS IN CARTHAGE - Abdallah Lagahre, a Tunisian stone mason, refreshes gold leaf lettering on the grave stone of Medal of

Honor recipient Private Nicholas Minue on May 28, 2010, at the North Africa American Cemetery in the ancient city of Carthage outside of Tunis, Tunisia.Workers were preparing for the Memorial Day weekend to honor fallen American service members. Most of the 2,841 Americans buried in Tunisia losttheir lives in World War IIs North Africa Campaign. Another 3,724 names are on the cemeterys Wall of the Missing. (AFRICOM photo by Vince Crawley)

34

It h ti t f l d iti


46/140

At rst, the U.S. Africa Commandstaff was small enough to gather arounda single table. Then to ll a single room,then a conference room. Then a smalltheater. Then, as the anniversariesstopped being measured by months andinstead were marked by years, the staffgrew too large to t inside the largest

building on Kelley Barracks, a full-size sports gymnasium with stadiumseating.

While much of the outside worldseemed to think that AFRICOM was

like some kind of mythological Athena-- springing from its creator fullyformed and armed for battle -- thetruth was far more mundane. The rstcommander, General William KipWard, would quip that he was having agood day when his computers worked,and making a phone call, the rightperson answered. Or, if that failed,

that he could walk to an ofce andnd that its occupants had not movedsince his previous visit. During oneof his rst news conferences -- witha team of South African journaliststwo weeks after the command wasactivated in October 2007 -- nearby

jackhammers suddenly drowned out

everyones voices. Were a commandunder construction, he quipped aftersomeone hurriedly stopped the din.

Many arrived excited. Not a fewwere bewildered. The enthusiasm ofcreating something new collided withrealities of a growing bureaucracyand its effects on human imperfection.The earliest civilians to be hired wereasked to sign memos agreeing, if asked,to relocate to Africa. Others, ndingthemselves involuntarily transferredacross town from U.S. European

Command, couldnt leave AFRICOMsoon enough.Still, many arrived with a passion

for the mission of AFRICOM. AnAfrican proverb says: When the righthand washes the left, and the left handwashes the right, both hands will

become cleaner! So let it be with thepartnership of Africa with the United

States AFRICOM, wrote Vic Folarin,a Nigerian-born Air Force colonel whowas the commands rst senior medicalofcer.

Major General MichaelSnodgrass, the rst chief of staff, spokemovingly of having red weapons incombat and that he vastly preferred

AFRICOMs mission of seeking toprevent or mitigate conict.

The integration of personnel fromother agencies -- one of the commandshallmarks -- proved complicated.How would salaries be paid? Howwould German diplomatic clearances

be handled? How many should therebe? U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment began sending peoplewithin days of the commandsannouncement in February 2007,and others soon followed, giving the

military an invaluable understandingof into the U.S. government works inAfrica.

I have been asked many times,Isnt this the militarization of foreignpolicy? AFRICOM s rst civiliandeputy, Ambassador Mary C. Yates,would tell reporters, then answer, Iwould say it is the exact opposite.

Once, she added that AFRICOMrepresents a foreign-policy-ization ofthe military, by helping the military to

better understand its role in support offoreign policy in Africa. Over and overagain in his staff meetings, AFRICOMsWard would ask his subordinates,Has this been coordinated with the

It was chaotic, stressful and exciting

35

they do with me Ill be ne, Ra said. I dont think the


47/140

Embassy? Has this been cleared by the Embassy?Just as the rst wave of confusion began to sort itself

out, the summer of 2008 brought the rst signicant inuxof personnel, who found an organization still in the throes ofputting itself together.

Senior Master Sergeant Ruel Ra was excited and alittle hesitant about getting orders to AFRICOM. I had read

about it, said Ra. There were tidbits of information. Iknew that the operation was to support its partners in Africa,but that was about it. I didnt really know exactly how wewere to carry out or execute our mission over there.

The 23-year Air Force veteran knew he was coming toa somewhat chaotic assignment, because the position he wasslotted for kept changing.

So I said, alright, Im just going to show up. Whatever

they do with me I ll be ne, Ra said. I don t think theinfrastructure was ready, the garrison was ready, or the

command itself was ready. He felt the confusion was partlydue to the large surge of personnel arriving in support

of October 1, 2008, the date AFRICOM formally tookresponsibility for the work of the U.S. military in Africa.

There was confusion, but manageable confusion, said

Ra, who had arrived on August 14, 2008. You just soldieron.

When Ra arrived, he was senior enlisted advisor for

Snodgrass, the rst chief of staff. Later he would becomethe rst sergeant for the commandant, who handles

administrative functions for the commands personnel andfacilities.

In the beginning the learning curve was so high,

said Ra. I managed to climb that and march on. ... In thebeginning I was burnt out. Wondering what I got myself into.But it worked. To me, it was chaotic, stressful and exciting.

Maha Whitherington, a civilian employee who was

deputy chief of protocol, arrived at Kelley Barracks onAugust 4, 2007.

We shared computers. I didnt have a phone. Wereally didnt have a staff, Whitherington recalled. We had

to establish all that. There was so much pride in doing that.Just seeing all that growing.

With a steady stream of Washington ofcials andinternational visitors curious about AFRICOM, the protocol

ofce had to rely on assistance from nearby EUCOM.It was a challenge, Whitherington said. But it was a

challenge full of pride.

Major General Michael Snodgrass, the rst AFRICOM chief of staff, meets with

West African journalists at Kelley Barracks in December 2009. (AFRICOM photo

by Vincent Crawley)

36


48/140

OVER MOROCCO - A Royal Moroccan Air Force F-5 jet approaches the refueling basket in

May 2009 during a refueling mission in support of Exercise African Lion 2009. Throughout

the exercise, Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234 worked with

Moroccan C-130 pilots, aircrew and mechanics to conduct aerial refueling, low-level ight

and other training. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Rocco DeFilippis)

MUD BATH -An African Cape

Buffalo takes a mudbath near Nairobi,

Kenya, in November2008. The mud bathserves as a barrieragainst horseies

and other insects.(AFRICOM photo by

Staff SergeantSamuel Bendet)

MARITIME SECURITY - A rigid hull inatable boat is lowered into the

water for a visit, board, search and seizure exercise in July 2009 with

the USS Arleigh Burkes (DDG 51) and South African Navy corvetteSAS Amatola (F 145). (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Ofcer 2nd ClassDavid Holmes)

37


49/140

LINKING AFRICAN MILITARIES - Service members from 25 African nations and AFRICOM stand in formation during a ceremony in Libreville, Gabon, for

exercise Africa Endeavor in October 2009. Africa Endeavor is an annual, AFRICOM-sponsored initiative to assist African militaries in improving their com-munications capabilities. (AFRICOM photo by Staff Sergeant Samara Scott)

38

COMMANDERS SPEAKERS SERIES - AFRICOM staff and communitymembers crowd into the Kelley Theater to hear Harvards Kenyan born


50/140

members crowd into the Kelley Theater to hear Harvard s Kenyan-bornProfessor Calestous Juma deliver a presentation on security and devel-opment in Africa in May 2009. Jumas visit marked the inauguration of

the Commanders Speakers Series, which regularly invites internationalacademics and opinion leaders to visit the commands headquarters.

Juma expressed optimism for Africas future, noting signicant eco-nomic growth and democratization rates in recent years. The speakersprogram helps to increase awareness of Africa-related issues amongstaff with an emphasis on adding African voices to command discus-sions. (AFRICOM photo by Vince Crawley)

39


51/140

Th AFRICOM A h


52/140

THE U.S. MILITARYS WORK inAfrica reminds Command Sergeant MajorMark Ripka, who served as U.S. AfricaCommands rst senior enlisted leader, ofthe bamboo story.

The story goes, in the rst year abamboo-type plant is sowed, watered andfertilized and nothing happens. Duringthe second year, more water and fertilizer-- still nothing. The third year, you keepwatering and fertilize it, and still nothinghappens.

Onlookers are anything but opti-mistic. Why do you keep going backthere? they ask. Cant you see nothingis happening? Youre wasting fertilizer.Youre wasting water.

Yet, this particular variety of plantmay take ve to seven years to come tofruition. Quietly, it has been growing a rootstructure under the ground that nobody

can see. And in that seventh year, it sud-denly grows 70 to 90 feet in one season.Its kind of like what were do-

ing in Africa, Ripka explained, summingup his three-plus years of nearly constantengagements in Africa as he worked one-on-one with his counterparts in dozens ofnations.

People want to conduct an activ-

ity and they want to see a difference rightaway, he said. We have to understandthat what were doing in Africa, werenot going to be able to realize right away.And it may be years from now for youto see the difference that were making.But we have to be satised knowing thatyoure growing the root structure andknowing were doing the right thing for

our African partners.RIPKA, who has been to more than

33 African countries, sees steady -- if notalways rapid -- progress. He said its im-portant not to sacrice sustainability forspeed.

Its about a measured pace -- andat their pace -- where our activities can besustained over the long term, said Ripka.

Still, he acknowledges that manypeople are uncomfortable with the ambi-guity of a long-term approach.

You have to have condence inwhat youre doing this year will be able tobe sustained next year, he said. This is acomplies environment! In too many cases

Ripka has found that Africans are processoriented and Americans are output ori-ented. That sometimes puts us at a dis-advantage in our engagements.

Part of the complexity comesfrom the way AFRICOMs programsare resourced within the U.S. govern-ment. With the commands focus onsecurity cooperation programs, muchof the funding is a mixture from mul-

tiple sources, overseen by differentagencies and U.S. congressional com-mittees. For instance, the Departmentof Defense controls so-called Title 10funds, referring to the part of the U.S.Code governs Department of Defensespending. However, the Department ofState controls foreign assistance fundsunder Title 22 of the U.S. Code, which

AFRICOM also oversees the executionof funds to carry out its mission in closecoordination with U.S. Department ofState.

This often requires military peopleto take a step back in order to see the

bigger picture and understand that theirmilitary work is in support of foreign

The AFRICOM ApproachPartnership - Security - Stability

41


53/140

policy goals In many cases, Ripka said,those activities that we do in Africaand other parts of the world, we doon behalf of the State Department. Weall need to understand that. The De-partment of Defense often enables orsupports diplomacy and development

activities, were not always in the lead.

RIPKA SAID he learns from peopleall the time. He listens and learns.

The commands senior enlistedleader turned to a piece of paper taped ona sideboard near his desk.

In Africa, said Ripka, lesson

number one: Personal relationships arecrucial. Everything is personal in Africa,and this means being on the ground inAfrica among Africans.

One of the things that we saidin the very beginning of this organiza-tion when we stood it up is, youve got

UNFURLING

THE COLORS -

Command SergeantMajor Mark Ripkaunfurls theAFRICOM bannerduring thecommandsestablishmentceremonyOctober 17, 2008,

at Kelley BarracksAFRICOM wasactivated October1. The ceremonywas attended byU.S., African andGerman dignitaries,

including remarksby representativesfrom the AfricanUnion, the U.S.Agency forInternationalDevelopment andthe U.S. Departmentof State. (AFRICOMphoto by PettyOfcer 1st Class

Dan Lapierre)

42

to listen and learn, said technical leaders in spe-


54/140

Ripka. In Africa, listeningis golden. Listen, listen, lis-ten. Talk is cheap; listeningis golden!

AFRICOM and thosewho conduct its activities

do so for the long term, notfor short rotations or arbi-trary timelines, said Ripka.

Nothing happensquickly in Africa, he said.Much will go wrong.Commitment and persever-ance are essential.

Images and visual

communication can bemore powerful than verbalmessages, he noted, especial-ly if those images convey respect.

Understand that actions speaklouder than words. The image of Americain much of Africa is that of a 20-somethingyear old Peace Corps volunteer who livesamong the Africans, learns their language,earns a little bit, but is eager to learn. Andso for us, its all about listening and learn-ing in Africa. If you do that, you showgreat respect and great deference for thosein Africa; and youll be successful.

GENERAL WARD had con-dence in me, said Ripka. Following his

guidance and intent we were able to ac-complish many things during our engage-ments in Africa.

One of those activities Ripka fo-cused on was warrant ofcer and non-commissioned ofcer leadership devel-opment. Noncommissioned ofcers andpetty ofcers are integral to the U.S. andmany other militaries. They are givenincreasing levels of responsibility in man-aging and leading an organizations dailyoperations. In the U.S. system, warrantofcers fall between commissioned andnoncommissioned ofcers and serve as

cialized elds. However,in the militaries of manyother nations, warrantofcers ll experiencedsupervisory positionsthat are similar to those

lled by senior noncom-missioned ofcers with-in the U.S. military.

ACROSSAfrica,many militaries followleadership structuresthat echo their formercolonial powers, andso use warrant ofcersin roles that Americanswould consider to be

senior NCO duties. Under the Britishmodel, a Warrant Ofcer Class One issomewhat equivalent to an E-9, the mostsenior enlisted grade in the U.S. military,and a Warrant Ofcer Class Two would becomparable to a senior U.S. enlisted mem-

ber in the E-8 grade. In many of AfricasFrench-speaking countries, personnelholding these levels of responsibility arecalled adjutants, adjutants-chef, and adju-tants-major.

For many years in African coun-tries, most U.S. military educational anddevelopment resources were focused on

Command Sergeant Major Mark Ripka, the senior enlisted leader for AFRICOM, speaks to

students and instructors at the Uganda Peoples Defence Force Noncommissioned OfcerAcademy in Jinja, Uganda, on April 11, 2008. (AFRICOM photo by Vince Crawley)

43

African commissioned ofcers. However, it was discovered over I always reinforce this. Our way is not the way, it is just a


55/140

a period of time that this approach really did not always help toimprove the entire force or formation.

TODAY,more and more countries are shifting resourc-es to developing warrant ofcer and noncommissioned of-cer leadership capacity -- what Ripka calls the life blood ofan organization.

American military ofcers have spent generations in-sisting NCOs are the solid, integral backbone of the U.S.armed forces. But Ripka is insistent in his choice of wordsand images.

I call it the life blood of an organization, Ripka said,not the backbone, because in the operating environmenttoday and our Africans are understanding this too, that younot only need warrant ofcers and noncommissioned of-cers to be the physical people that they are, but you also need

them to be very intelligent. They need to be able to operatewithin the commanders guidance and intent as well.

By focusing additional resources to develop warrantofcers and noncommissioned ofcers, an organization ndsitself building capability and capacity across the entire rankstructure.

What we found out, Ripka said using a pyramid dia-gram, and what our African partners somewhat agreed with uson, is once you started to put some here [on warrant ofcers andnoncommissioned ofcers] you improve not only the top butyou also improve the bottom -- what we could call a junior en -listed, but most of our African partners call them other ranks.

AS THE COMMAND SERGEANT MAJORpresents hismessage about NCOs and warrant ofcers, he emphasizes thatthe U.S. military is not trying to offer U.S.-centric solutions.

It really is A Way, said Ripka. Its not The Way.

I always reinforce this. Our way is not the way, it is just away. Its just another data point as they begin to look athow to meet the requirements of their changing operatingenvironment and grow their warrant ofcers and noncom-missioned ofcers, and in fact, ofcers. As they grow theirleaders of the future, we offer them a model, a construct, onhow to do that.

During his tenure at AFRICOM, Ripka gave his AWay presentation in about 30 African countries -- more thanhalf the total. Its been given to members of parliament andsenators, to African chiefs of defense, their general ofcers,and, of course, to many warrant-ofcer and noncommis-sioned-ofcer audiences as well.

HIS PRESENTATIONincludes a formula to illustratehis point:

Improving warrant ofcer and NCO capacity = Ways x

Means x 3Will.People ask me all the time, Why do you use multi-

plication? Why cant you just use addition? Ripka said. Ifyou used addition, you could add 2 ways and 2 means andzero will, and youd still have a positive number. If you usedmultiplication, you can have 2 ways times 2 means, and ifyou dont have the will to do it, then you have no improvingwarrant ofcer capability and capacity. Because zero timesanything is zero.

And, of course, Will counts three times anything else,because the desire to improve an organization is far moreimportant than methods or nancial resources.

The formulas -- for some reason they love it, Ripkasaid. I think it is a wonderful experience to be able to sharewith them a way, not the way. They tell us this all thetime. They say, We really appreciate you saying that its not

44


56/140

the way and the only way. It is just a perspective, a way ofhow you can improve warrant ofcer and noncommissionedofcer capability and capacity.

Thats why he said he is optimistic with those nations thatvoice a desire to continue building capable, accountable militaries.

Is it going to happen today?, Ripka asked. Nope. Isit going to happen tomorrow? Nope. Itll take years in order tohappen. And this is not about trying to make them a clone ofthe U.S. military. Theyre not U.S. noncommissioned ofcers orwarrant ofcers. ... Our operating environment is much differentthan the African operating environment.

ANOTHER SUCCESS for the early years of AFRICOMwas getting NCO and warrant ofcers recognized and inte-grated into other Defense Department initiatives in Africa.

For example, in August of 2010 the Africa Center for Stra-tegic Studies (ACSS) for the rst time hosted the African JointDefense and Warrant Ofcers Symposium in Washington, D.C.

For more than a decade, ACSS has provided seminarsand courses for African ofcers and senior civilian govern-ment ofcials. For the rst time ACSS sponsored a verygood program for joint and defense warrant ofcers, Ripkasaid of the 2010 event. And it was a tremendous success for

Command SergeantMajor Mark S. Ripka,

AFRICOMs seniorenlisted leader,

and the GhanaianForce SergeantMajor Adu Yaw

share a laughfollowing

an Africa Centerfor Strategic Studies

Alumni breakfast

welcoming GeneralWard to Ghana on

February 9,2011. (AFRICOM

photo by ColonelFranklin Childress)

45

our African Partners. ACSS realized that when we were in Ranger school, and allh h h h

ent languages and can be downloaded


57/140

African warrant ofcers intelligenceand experience provided another per-spective to the discussion.

AFRICOM ALSO LAUNCHEDaprofessional reading program aimed atNCOs and warrant ofcers.

We always get comments whenwe do senior leader engagements inAfrica, how appreciative they are of theprofessional reading series that we elec-tronically distribute, Ripka said.

The tactical aide-memoire pro-gram that we have is pretty unique,Ripka said, referring to pocket-sizedwaterproof printed documents that

serve as memory aids. The TAM initia-tive started in early 2008, when Ripkaand his boss, General William KipWard, were visiting Botswana. Ripkawas talking to a Warrant Ofcer ClassTwo who, to demonstrate a point,reached into his pocket and pulled outan old graphic training aid that was giv-

en to him in 1985 or 86. The warrantofcer had received it from a member ofthe 3rd Special Forces Group who hadtrained the Botswana Defence Force.

He pulled this out and said, Ser-geant Major, I still use this graphic train-ing aid today, Ripka said. It was thesame graphic training aid that we got

the other schools that we went to. Itsthe old infantry leaders reference card.It has operations orders and warningorders and patrol orders and troop lead-ing procedures.

The pocket-sized document hadbeen helping to guide a Botswanan sol-dier for more than two decades.

Our mission statement says sus-tained security engagement, Ripkasaid, quoting AFRICOMs mission.That doesnt mean that we need to bein that country 24 hours a day, everyday of the week. It means that we arestill with that person. ... The 3rd Special

Forces Group that trained that WarrantOfcer Class Two back in 1985 or 1986 isstill with that person, because hes stillpulling out that tactical aide-memoireand using it today. That is sustainedsecurity engagement. You dont have to

be with them. All of our tactical aide-memoires also include leadership traitsand principles, so we reinforce that as

well.The AFRICOM team also devel-

oped a page on the www.africom.milwebsite, the Warrant Ofcer and Non-commissioned Ofcer Resources Down-load Center, that includes professionalreadings and the tactical aide-memoires,which are translated into several differ-

by military professionals across Africa.

WERE STILL BUILDINGthisorganization and we are not there, Ripkarecalled during his nal days with AFRI-COM. This is a journey. This is not a des-tination. And theres much more work to

do as we continue to listen and learn andunderstand the perspectives of Africans ifwere truly going to assist them.

Turning again to the posting tapednear his desk he read the words: Per-sonal relationships are crucial; everythingis personal. And this means being on theground in Africa among Africans, number

one. Number two, Listen, listen, listen.Talk is cheap; listening is golden. Les-son number three, Its for the long term,not short rotations or arbitrary timelines.Nothing happens quickly in Africa. Muchwill go wrong. Commitment and perse-verance are essential. And number four,Understand that actions speak louderthan words. The image of America inmuch of Africa is that of the 20-year-oldPeace Corps volunteer who lives amongthe Africans, learns their language, earns alittle, and is eager to learn.

And, perhaps above all else, it isan image of patience and seeking to nur-ture mutual respect.

46

What people who know more than me have said


58/140

Guidance followed by Command Sergeant Major Mark Ripka, U.S. AfricaCommands frst senior enlisted leader:

1. Personal relationships are crucial. Everything is personal and thismeans being on the ground in Africa among Africans. Relationshipsmatter ... cant surge TRUST

2. Listen, listen, listen ... talk is cheap. Listening is golden.3. Its for the long term, not short rotations or arbitrary timelines.Nothing happens quickly in Africa. Much will go wrong. Commit-ment and perseverance are essential.

4. Understand that actions speak louder than words. The image ofAmerica in much of Africa is that of the 20-year-old Peace Corpsvolunteer who lives among the Africans, learns their language,earns a little, and is eager to learn.

Partnership and trust only happen if it is true partnership. You can-

not act like the mentor or leader, or get frustrated that you are not. Do notpresume; do not prefer your opinion over others.

Train for Africa engagements, not on things, concepts.

Do fewer Battle Drills and a lot more language training. Learn thelanguage and youll build trust faster.

What youre doing you cant always measure ... focus on buildinghuman capacity in all we do. Human capacity is the glue that will sustain

all other activities (Institutional Capacity Building and Operational Capac-ity Building)!!

The African leader said they didnt have fuel to go to training, so Isaid, ok, were walking, you coming? They did.

It seems all the smart people work for the US; no wonder therearent enough to go around for our African partners. Ego and arroganceare not successful characteristics in Africa.

You have to listen, learn and adjust every day. All too often, theonly way to stay on a plan is to realize you cant stay on a plan.

History didnt start with you. Recognize and understand thecontributions from those who have gone before you.

Even though we develop relationships and come to know manypeople, when we walk into a room in Africa even though we may knoweveryone in the room, we seldom if ever really understand the 2ndand 3rd level of relationships of those in the room whos married towhom, whos aligned with whom, etc.

In many parts of Africa, process is more important than out-put. This makes sense, since everything in Africa is about relationships,relationships, relationships. However, this is antithesis to U.S. thinking.

If our efforts are to ever be sustained over the long term we must focusmore on process. Its okay to start with a U.S. manual or doctrine as apoint of reference, but we must assist the partner nation military to cre-ate an output to meet their suitability and affordability parameters.

There are no panaceas and few quick xes.

Dont believe the good or bad hype. Be careful of facts and skep-tical of data.

Dont generalize about Africa.

Every country in Africa is not each country in Africa.

Sustainability is always a critical part to all of our activities.

Dont judge by one snap-shot; look at the reel or the 1,000 pic-tures over time.

What people who know more than me have said ...

47


59/140

SUPPORTING DARFUR PEACEKEEPERS - Loadmasters from Travis Air Force Base, California, secure a DAF vehicle and water holding tanks onboard

a U.S. Air Force C-17 military cargo aircraft in January 2009. This was the rst load of ve airlifts to transport Rwandan peacekeeping equipment from

Kigali, Rwanda, to Al Fashir in the Darfur region of Sudan, in support of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur. (AFRICOM photo by StaffSergeant Samuel Bendet)

48


60/140

Africa TodayAFRICOM represents yet another important step in modernizing ourdefense arrangements in light of 21st century realities. It is, at its heart,a different kind of command with a different orientation, one that wehope and expect will institutionalize a lasting security relationship withAfrica, a vast region of growing importance in the globe. The focus is onthe three Ds: defense, diplomacy and development. On the defense side,

AFRICOMs mission is not to wage war, but to prevent it; not to showUnited States military presence, but to enhance the security forces of ourpartners.

~ Secretary of Defense Robert GatesOctober 1, 2008, the Pentagon

operational activationof U.S. Africa Command

49


61/140

PATROLLING LAKE KIVU Major Theo Bahizi of the Rwanda Defence Forces patrols Lake Kivu in Gisenyi, Rwanda, January 8, 2009. The maritime regiment

is responsible for search and rescue, protection of government key installations (such as the oating methane gas plant), and countering smuggling and

drug trafcking. (AFRICOM photo by Staff Sergeant Samuel Bendet)

50

WATER SURVIVAL -

Senegalese marine


62/140

Senegalese marinebiologists participate inwater survivial trainingwith John LaFargue,

a National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA)sheries logistical trainer,

February 5, 2009, inDakar, Senegal. AfricaPartnership Station andNOAA partnered to host awater survival workshopto advance the art andscience of maritimeoperations. (U.S. Navyphoto by Petty Ofcer

2nd Class David Holmes)

51


63/140

BLACK BOX

SEARCH -

A U.S. Navy diverplunges into Lake

Victoria to searchfor human remansand the ight-data

recorder of a Soviet-

era IL-76 cargoplane that crashedafter take-off inMarch 2009 nearEntebbe, Uganda,en route to Somalia.All 11 people onboard were killed,including Burundianand Ugandapeackeepers, andthe Russian andUkranian crew. TheU.S. government-contract plane wascarrying personnel,tents and waterpurication gear for

the African UnionMission in Somalia.(U.S. Navy Photo byChief Petty Ofcer

Cory Drake)

52

Interagency cooperation


64/140

The U.S. military plays a supportingrole to U.S. foreign policy in Africa, andnearly everything U.S. AFRICOM does inAfrica is closely coordinated with U.S. am-bassadors, embassies, U.S. country teams,

and the Department of State Bureau forAfrican Affairs.

Because of this emphasis on co-ordination, the command was createdwith a unique organizational structurethat reects the talents, expertise andcapabilities across the U.S. govern-ment. Thus, AFRICOM was the rstregional command to integrate from its

inception staff members from other U.S.government entities, such as the Depart-ments of State, Treasury, Commerce andHomeland Security and the U.S. Agencyfor International Development (US-AID). These members serve not only asliaisons and advisors but as integratedmembers of the AFRICOM staff, servingin positions of leadership and responsi-

bility alongside members of the armedforces and civilian employees of theDepartment of Defense.

Interagency personnel bring in-valuable expertise to help the commandensure its plans and activities comple-ment those of other U.S. government

INTER-AGENCY COORDINATION - Senior military and diplomatic ofcials attend the annual AFRICOM The-

ater Security Cooperation Conference at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, November 1010. The weeklong con-ference brought together 600 stakeholders from U.S. embassies in Africa, other U.S. government agencies,and the U.S. military to coordinate programs in Africa. From left to right: Vice Admiral Joe Leidig, AFRICOMs

deputy to the commander for military operations; Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, deputy assistant secretary

for Africa in the ofce of the Secretary of Defense; Ambassador Tony Holmes, AFRICOMs deputy to the com-mander for civil-military activities; and Ambassador Richard Roth, U.S. State Department, senior advisor to

the assistant secretary for Africa affairs and to the Bureau of African Affairs; and Raja Jandhyala, deputyassistant administrator, U.S. Agency for International Developments Bureau for Africa. (AFRICOM photo byMichael Morris)

Interagency cooperation

53

programs and t within the context ofU S foreign policy


65/140

U.S. foreign policy.Three years after being estab-

lished, the command had four SeniorForeign Service ofcers in key positionsas well as more than 30 personnel from13 U.S. government departments andagencies serving in leadership, manage-ment and staff positions. The most se-nior is a career State Department ofcialserving as the deputy to the commanderfor civil-military activities.

AFRICOM supports the U.S. De-partment of State in the achievement ofU.S. foreign policy objectives in Africa.Also, where appropriate, AFRICOM pro-vides personnel and logistical support toState Department-funded activities. Com-mand personnel work closely with U.S.embassies in Africa to coordinate trainingprograms to improve our African part-ners security capacity.

This integration was not withoutgrowing pains as non-defense personneltried to make sense of the military cul-

ture and vice versa. On the other hand,inter-agency staff members come fromorganizations and backgrounds that haveincluded decades in Africa, and they bringperspectives and insights that allow theAFRICOM staff to better understand howthe military can closely coordinate itswork in support of foreign policy without

disrupting non-military programs andactivities.

The USAID representative servingas the commands Humanitarian Branchchief received the American ForeignService Associations prestigious RivkinAward for Constructive Dissent for her

contribution to the design of AFRICOMprograms in the Democratic Republic ofCongo. Also, an advisor from the USAIDOfce of Foreign Disaster Assistance has

played a key role in educating commandon appropriate disaster responses on thecontinent.

SECURITY COOPERATION OFFICES - Botswana Defence Force soldiers, assisted by Lieu

U.S. Africa Command-The First ThreeYears - March 2011

Documents

Transcript of U.S. Africa Command-The First ThreeYears - March 2011