UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES IN AFRICA

Abstract

The creation of United States Africa Command in 2007 manifested recognition that the United States has increasing strategic national interests on the continent of Africa that are worthy of long-term commitments. This paper proposes that given those U.S. national interests, the moral and political considerations of military engagement, and the complexities of the African continent, Special Operations Forces (SOF) are uniquely suited to further those interests. Additionally, the paper examines two recent challenges on the continent, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, and determines that there are lessons and recommendations for future engagements. These recommendations include employing SOF using a persistent engagement posture, focusing on advanced skills and professionalization training with partner military forces, using SOF to train host nation law enforcement on specific skill sets, and the importance of airborne ISR and basing access.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 16, 2016
Accession Number
AD1037554

Entities

People

  • Keith L. Crawford

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Counterterrorism
  • Department Of State
  • Employment
  • Foreign Relations
  • Military Education
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • United States Africa Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies