A
U.S. Army brigade will begin sending small teams into as many as 35 African
nations early next year, part of an intensifying Pentagon effort to train
countries to battle extremists and give the U.S. a ready and trained force to
dispatch to Africa if crises requiring the U.S. military emerge.
The teams will be limited to training and equipping
efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without
specific, additional approvals from the secretary of defense. The sharper focus
on Africa by the U.S. comes against a backdrop of widespread insurgent violence
across North Africa, and as the African Union and other nations discuss
military intervention in northern Mali. The terror threat from Al Qaeda linked
groups in Africa has been growing steadily, particularly with the rise of the
extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram in Nigeria. Officials also believe that the
Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed the ambassador
and three other Americans, may have been carried out by those who had ties to
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. This first-of-its-kind brigade assignment -
involving teams from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division - will target
countries such as Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger, where Al Qaeda-linked groups
have been active. It also will assist nations like Kenya and Uganda that have
been battling al-Shabab militants on the front lines in Somalia.
Gen. Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander in Africa,
noted that the brigade has a small drone capability that could be useful in
Africa. But he also acknowledged that he would need special permission to tap
it for that kind of mission. "If they want them for military operations,
the brigade is our first sourcing solution because they're prepared," -
said Gen. David Rodriguez, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command.
Already the U.S. military has plans for nearly 100
different exercises, training programs and other activities across the widely
diverse continent. But the new program faces significant cultural and language
challenges, as well as nagging questions about how many of the lower-level
enlisted members of the brigade, based in Fort Riley, Kan., will participate,
since the teams would largely be made up of more senior enlisted troops and
officers. A full brigade numbers about 3,500, but the teams could range from
just a few people to a company of about 200. In rare cases for certain
exercises, it could be a battalion, which would number about 800. To bridge the
cultural gaps with the African militaries, the Army is reaching out across the
services, the embassies and a network of professional organizations to find
troops and experts that are from some of the African countries. The experts can
be used during training, and the troops can both advise or travel with the
teams as they begin the program.
"In a very short time frame we can only teach
basic phrases," - said Col. Matthew McKenna, commander of the 162nd
Infantry Brigade that will begin training the Fort Riley soldiers in March for
their African deployment.
"We focus on culture and the cultural impact -
how it impacts the African countries' military and their operations." Thomas
Dempsey, a professor with the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said the
biggest challenge will be the level of cultural, language and historical
diversity across the far-flung continent.
"How do you train for that in a way that would
be applicable wherever they go?" - said Dempsey, a retired Army colonel.
He said he's not sure using a combat brigade is the right answer, but added,
"I'm not sure what the answer is. The security challenges differ so
dramatically that, to be honest, I really don't think it's feasible to have a
continental training package."
At the same time, many African nations are eager
for U.S. training or support, as they work to build their militaries, battle
pirates along the coast and shut down drug trafficking, kidnapping and other
insurgent activities. Dagger Brigade commander Col. Jeff Broadwater said
the language and culture training will be different than what most soldiers
have had in recent years, since they have focused on Pashtun and Farsi,
languages used mostly in Afghanistan and Iran. He said he expects the soldiers
to learn French, Swahili, Arabic or other languages, as well as the local
cultures. "What's really exciting is we get to focus on a different part
of the world and maintain our core combat skills," - Broadwater said,
adding that the soldiers know what to expect. "You see those threats in
Africa in the news all the time." The brigade will be carved up into
different teams designed to meet the specific needs of each African nation. As
the year goes on, the teams will travel from Fort Riley to those nations - all
while trying to avoid any appearance of a large U.S. military footprint.
"The challenge we have is to always understand
the system in their country," - said Rodriguez, who has been nominated to
be the next head of Africa Command. "We're not there to show them our
system, we're there to make their system work. Here is what their army looks
like, and here is what we need to prepare them to do." Rodriguez said the
nearly 100 assignments so far requested by Ham will be carried out with "a
very small footprint to get the high payoff."
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