AFRICOM at 5 years
Subtitle: the maturation of a new U.S. combatant command
By: David E. Brown
Contributors: Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute; Army War College (U.S.). Press
Series: Letort papers; Letort papers
Publisher: n/a
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 111
ISBN-13: 9781584875826
Subjects: Organization; Planning; Public opinion; Unified operations (Military science); Interagency coordination; United States. Africa Command; United States
Other titles: Africa Command at five years; Maturation of a new US combatant command; Maturation of a new United States combatant command
Description: The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), newest of the six U.S. Department of Defense geographic combatant commands (CCMDs), was created in 2007 amid great controversy in both Africa and the United States over its location and mission. Over the last 5 years, AFRICOM has matured greatly, overcoming much of the initial resistance from African stakeholders through careful public messaging, and by addressing most of the U.S. interagency concerns about the Command's size and proper role within the U.S. national security/foreign policy community. This Letort Paper describes the geostrategic, operational, and intellectual changes that explain why AFRICOM was created, and debunks three myths about AFRICOM: that it was created to "exploit" Africa's oil and gas riches, "blocks" China's rise in Africa, and that France "opposes" AFRICOM. The author concludes by raising five issues that are important to AFRICOM's future: 1) allocated forces to carry out short-term training engagements in Africa; 2) preference to emerging democracies in the selection of the Command's partner-nations; 3) the desirability of regional approaches in Africa, including helping the African Union and its Regional Economic Communities to establish standby brigades; 4) the location of the Command's headquarters, which should remain in Stuttgart, Germany, for operational efficiency; and, 5) the need to carry out a top-down "right-sizing" exercise at AFRICOM during a time of severe budget constraints and a real risk for the United States of "strategic insolvency."
Notes: "August 2013."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 88-111).

Also available online in PDF format from Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) web site.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Part I. AFRICOM : historical context of its creation and current posture. U.S. perceptions of Africa's geostrategic importance before AFRICOM's creation; title: Factors leading to and shaping AFRICOM's creation in 2007; title: Intellectual changes in thinking about geopolitics shaped AFRICOM; title: AFRICOM's posture today : headquarters and components; title: Part II. AFRICOM and the new jointness of interagency cooperation. Interagency team within AFRICOM; title: Should other combatant commands upgrade the role of the senior interagency representative?; title: Part III. Internal perceptions of AFRICOM : role in foreign policy, development work, interagency coordination, and strategic planning; title: Part IV. External perceptions of AFRICOM : Africa, energy, China, and France. African attitudes toward AFRICOM : past, present, and future; title: Is AFRICOM about U.S. access to Africa's energy resources?; title: Is AFRICOM trying to block China's rise in Africa?; title: Does France support or oppose AFRICOM?; title: Part V. The future of AFRICOM. AFRICOM'S allocated forces do not equal militarization of U.S. foreign policy; title: Alliances with autocratic African leaders may be a costly error later; title: AFRICOM strengthening regional approaches; title: Where should AFRICOM be headquartered?; title: Why the threat of U.S. strategic insolvency means AFRICOM must right-size; and why intelligence expenditures and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets merit cost-benefit scrutiny.