Africa Command: An Interagency Solution and SOF's Role

Abstract

The continent of Africa has been plagued for decades with problems of poverty, poor governance, genocide, and regional conflicts. In the post-9/11 world we live in, the United States can no longer afford to ignore the continent, not only because of terrorism concerns, but also because of our need for secure energy sources. With the impending announcement of a new combatant command for Africa, the U.S. Government should utilize this unique opportunity to enhance its ability to integrate all the instruments of national power at the regional level. In order to accomplish this, the structure of the new combatant command for Africa must blend civil-military leadership at all levels to create a body which can truly integrate the U.S. Government's efforts on the continent. Additionally, in analyzing the need for U.S. Military personnel to support his command's mission, the new commander should rely on special operation forces as the primary effort because of their expert capabilities, holistic approach, and pre-established command and control relationships.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 10, 2006
Accession Number
ADA463703

Entities

People

  • Daniel P. Malatesta

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combatant Commanders
  • Continents
  • Failed States
  • Governments
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Psychological Operations
  • Terrorists
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • United States Africa Command
  • United States European Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control