thedrifter
09-01-07, 09:40 AM
Marine role in Africa Command takes shape
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Sep 1, 2007 7:40:02 EDT
One month from the official standup of U.S. Africa Command, President Bush has nominated a commander, Army Gen. William Ward, to head the effort. But few other decisions have been made as the team of planners continues to work to find a host for command headquarters and define what type of role the different services — including the Corps — will play.
Pentagon officials have already said additional U.S. forces will not be shipped to Africa as AfriCom works its way toward full operational capability by September 2008. Instead, the command will take over organizational and staffing responsibilities from the three combatant commands that oversee the continent — European Command, Central Command and Pacific Command.
And as expected, a new Marine Corps acronym is on its way. Marine Forces Africa will split off from Marine Forces Europe to support AfriCom when it does attain full operational capability, said Gunnery Sgt. Donald Preston, a MarForEur spokesman working with the AfriCom Transition Team.
MarForAf will include about 100 Marines, but it’s still unclear if a portion or all of it will be based in Africa, or remain in Europe, he said.
Instead of having a battalion or regiments assigned to MarForAf, the Marine command will instead act like MarForEur and have access to active and Reserve forces for training or operational missions, Preston said.
Marines from a wide range of job fields including intelligence, logistics and communications have already started to report to Stuttgart, Germany, where MarForEur is based and the AfriCom Transition Team is stationed, Preston said.
Roughly 15 Marines are on the transition team, consisting of more than 100 active-duty and civilian personnel, with more than 30 more Marines on the way, said Vince Crawley, spokesman for the AfriCom Transition Team.
Once AfriCom becomes fully operational, Marines can expect more joint exercises such as Africa Lion and Shared Accord, Preston said.
Both Defense and State Department officials have visited African countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal, and the African Union, over the past couple of months to alleviate concerns within the different countries and discuss ways to best set up the command.
Thus far, reaction from the African countries has been mixed. A defense minister from South Africa spoke out against the creation of the command, saying more U.S. troops wouldn’t be welcome in Africa and the “continental position” of the African Union was against AfriCom basing its headquarters in an African country, according to multiple reports.
A news conference with members of the African media and a Defense Department official was riddled with questions about concerns over the U.S. establishing an African command to combat terrorism and respond to Chinese influence over Africa’s oil and natural resources.
However, Liberia, a member of the African Union, has reportedly offered to host the headquarters within its borders, according to a report by Inside the Pentagon that quotes the Liberian ambassador, Charles Minor. Calls to the Liberian embassy were not returned.
Defense Department spokeswoman Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Finn said it was too early for the Pentagon to have a response to concerns over the location of AfriCom’s headquarters because it hasn’t even been decided if it will be based on the continent.
Ellie
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Sep 1, 2007 7:40:02 EDT
One month from the official standup of U.S. Africa Command, President Bush has nominated a commander, Army Gen. William Ward, to head the effort. But few other decisions have been made as the team of planners continues to work to find a host for command headquarters and define what type of role the different services — including the Corps — will play.
Pentagon officials have already said additional U.S. forces will not be shipped to Africa as AfriCom works its way toward full operational capability by September 2008. Instead, the command will take over organizational and staffing responsibilities from the three combatant commands that oversee the continent — European Command, Central Command and Pacific Command.
And as expected, a new Marine Corps acronym is on its way. Marine Forces Africa will split off from Marine Forces Europe to support AfriCom when it does attain full operational capability, said Gunnery Sgt. Donald Preston, a MarForEur spokesman working with the AfriCom Transition Team.
MarForAf will include about 100 Marines, but it’s still unclear if a portion or all of it will be based in Africa, or remain in Europe, he said.
Instead of having a battalion or regiments assigned to MarForAf, the Marine command will instead act like MarForEur and have access to active and Reserve forces for training or operational missions, Preston said.
Marines from a wide range of job fields including intelligence, logistics and communications have already started to report to Stuttgart, Germany, where MarForEur is based and the AfriCom Transition Team is stationed, Preston said.
Roughly 15 Marines are on the transition team, consisting of more than 100 active-duty and civilian personnel, with more than 30 more Marines on the way, said Vince Crawley, spokesman for the AfriCom Transition Team.
Once AfriCom becomes fully operational, Marines can expect more joint exercises such as Africa Lion and Shared Accord, Preston said.
Both Defense and State Department officials have visited African countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal, and the African Union, over the past couple of months to alleviate concerns within the different countries and discuss ways to best set up the command.
Thus far, reaction from the African countries has been mixed. A defense minister from South Africa spoke out against the creation of the command, saying more U.S. troops wouldn’t be welcome in Africa and the “continental position” of the African Union was against AfriCom basing its headquarters in an African country, according to multiple reports.
A news conference with members of the African media and a Defense Department official was riddled with questions about concerns over the U.S. establishing an African command to combat terrorism and respond to Chinese influence over Africa’s oil and natural resources.
However, Liberia, a member of the African Union, has reportedly offered to host the headquarters within its borders, according to a report by Inside the Pentagon that quotes the Liberian ambassador, Charles Minor. Calls to the Liberian embassy were not returned.
Defense Department spokeswoman Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Finn said it was too early for the Pentagon to have a response to concerns over the location of AfriCom’s headquarters because it hasn’t even been decided if it will be based on the continent.
Ellie