The Importance Of The AFRICOM Mission Statement

Djibouti supports the only U.S Military base on the continent of Africa- it also supports French and Japanese military forces. The U. S Military installation, Camp Lemonnier, houses over 4000 Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force personnel, which includes a robust contingency of Special Operations personnel. Djibouti’s support for a U.S Military presence enables the sustained training of East African militaries, a key objective in the State Departments vision to enhance the effectiveness, capability, credibility and status of East African militaries towards civilian populations they serve. Additionally, having a U.S military presence supports and develops a wide range of military options available to the Commander in Chief during emergent/contingent operations. Finally, the Djiboutian government support of multi-national military forces

AFRICOM was not prepared or manned to do what they were being asked to do. As Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Robert Gates stated, “AFRICOM represents yet another important step in modernizing our defense arrangements in light of the twenty-first century realities. It is, at its heart, a different kind of command with a different orientation… AFRICOM’s mission is not to wage war, but to prevent it; not to show United States military presence, but to enhance the security forces of our partners”. What could have prevented this failure was for AFRICOM to be set up as a full GCC capable of being able to complete kinetic operations, if needed.

COL (R) Christopher Kolenda commanded an excellent group of men and women in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the 1-91 Cavalry (Airborne) Squadron, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). In 2007 – 08 the 1-91 CAV deployed to Afghanistan, under his leadership and guidance he provided a strategy for his Officers and Senior Non-commissioned Officers. He was able to articulate his vision for successfully accomplishing the mission at hand by building a cohesive team through trust, a shared understanding and providing a clear intent. By providing a clear intent Senior NCO’s were able to implement his guidance and conduct successful missions. COL (R) Kolenda provided mentorship and guidance not only to Officers but also Senior NCO’s; along with CSM Pedraza they were able to trust and allow Senior NCO’s to conduct their duties with little to no supervision. During his command with 1-91 CAV he was able to implement an innovative approach to counterinsurgency by employing locally tailored combinations of armed diplomacy, conflict resolution, personal relationships, and high degrees of leverage, 1-91 CAV dramatically improved the instability in Kunar and Nuristan

Concepts lead change for the Army and drive the development and integration of future capabilities. More specifically, they provide a framework for analysis, readiness assessments, prioritization, and feedback. In addition, concepts serve as a foundation to help the Army maximize effectiveness and minimize risk through both materiel and nonmaterial capabilities. The role of concepts is to describe how future forces will operate. Concepts assists in the identification of prioritized capability gaps and integrated Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and education, Personnel, Facilities and Policy (DOTMLPF-P).

Geographic Combatant Commander (GCC) are the vital link between those who determine national security policy and strategy and the military forces or subordinate JFCs that conduct military operations within their AORs [JP-1]. GCCs takes on a lot of responsibility they are normally responsible for a large geographical area; not mention the effective coordination of operations within that area falls on the shoulder of the GCC. Directives flow from the President and SecDef through CJCS to the GCCs, who plan and conduct the operations that achieve national or multinational strategic objectives. GCCs provide guidance and direction through strategic estimates, command strategies, and plans and orders for the employment of military force. One plan

While analyzing the North Africa conflict, a combination of service capabilities would be required to achieve the desired end state of deterring and if necessary, the defeat of Algerian guerilla aggression to prevent regional and global destabilization. Taking into account the current military landscape that exists today, a joint task force (JTF) would be the ideal military response of the United States and collation partner’s while utilizing the regional military assets. Intelligence suggests guerilla forces are capable of a full scale offensive into Morocco in less than 36 hour notice, bringing the factors of time, force and space into consideration.

Moving forward, our Army's primary purpose is steadfast and resolute: to fight and win our Nation's wars. But we all know that the Army must be able to do much more than that. Today, we require an Army that is adaptive and innovative, flexible and agile, integrated and synchronized, lethal and discriminate. Even more critical in today's complex and uncertain environment, the Army is the decisive arm of the Joint Force in a broad range of missions. Historically the Army has been focused on a specific set of needs, but these needs and the means in which they are resourced have changed. So we must fundamentally change how we do business. As we keep adding rocks to our Soldiers' rucksacks, all leaders must remain cognizant over time. Everyone's load can get too heavy and cause permanent wear and tear. So it is a good idea to

The Armed Forces of the United States stand at an inflection point. Fourteen years of sustained combat forged a seasoned force capable of success across the range of military operations from military engagement to joint and multinational major combat operations. Today, this seasoned force is tasked to reset from a decade plus of counterinsurgency operations and evolve capability and capacity to defend the Nation from an increasingly complex security environment. Furthermore, this transformation must be completed in the face of a stark fiscal federal budget.

Taking the field in 2003, the U.S Army, the most dominate fighting force in the world seized the initiative in Iraq. This paper outlines the staging of one command, the 101st Airborne Division, their commander Major General Petraeus, and the challenges of shifting rolls from combat to nation building and the effective transfer of power. Additionally, this paper will detail the Mission Command philosophy, specifically the describe action with the four step process of commander’s intent, planning guidance, critical information and friendly information as pertains to developing the commander’s intent during the initial occupation of Mosul, Iraq. While little was known about the current

After reviewing The AOC, TP 525-3-1, which describes how the United States Army will employ forces and capabilities in complex

Since the beginning of our nation and the development and expansion of the services that defend it, we have faced a myriad of complex issues: shrinking force structures, global security concerns, and fiscal constraints to name a few. From George Washington’s Continental Army, which evolved into the current Joint Force operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are faced with increasing complexity of the operating environment. This heightened complexity and ever shrinking available assets to satisfy these requirements, are the very reason that all commanders at all levels need to find innovative ways to increase operational efficiency in addition to lowering fiscal and asset demands. This new operating environment has also driven the Army Reserve to transform from a traditional strategic force to an operational force.

The Army is in a period of transitioning to a new construct on how it trains and employs Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). This new idea is called Regionally Aligned Forces (RAFs). The basic concept for RAFs is to align BCTs to a Combatant Commander (COCOM) for use as needed by that COCOM. By being aligned to a COCOM, the BCT and its respective Soldiers will receive specific region cultural and language training and also be provided specific training focus as determined by that COCOM. On a rotational basis units within those regionally aligned BCTs will deploy to their designated region to support the COCOM and in return the unit and Soldiers receive invaluable experiences and realistic training. This essay is to discuss how the Army’s move to RAFs is a great strategic move for the Army on many fronts. Listed are a few of the fronts that the transition to regionally aligned forces addresses. As the Army draws down its forces in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) it has to find ways to remain relevant and useful in a time of budget reductions, smaller conflicts and greater uncertainty across the Department of Defense (DoD). With the reduction in size of the Army and the contraction of forces stationed abroad, there needs to be a plan to address this cultural exposure our forces are losing. In addition, the Army needs to preserve the lessons learned over a decade at war and not fall back into a garrison mindset where realistic training becomes unrealistic and worthless.

The US Army’s Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 5-0 provides a comprehensive overview of how the Army plans operations, expanding upon its doctrine publication (ADP) 5-0, The Operations Process. This and other doctrine materials are produced by the Army’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, United States Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Most famously, then CAC Commander Lt. General David Petraeus, before his later ignominious downfall as Director of CIA, spearheaded the production in 2006 of Army Field Manual FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency. Ft. Leavenworth is also home to the Army’s Command and General Staff Officer’s Course (CGSOC) (the basics of Army planning methodology), the School of Advanced Military

The Army’s mission is to build forces capable of Unified Land Operations, able to operate effectively with Joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational partners across the range of military operations to provide capable and ready forces to combatant commanders (CCDRs) in support of the National Security and National Defense Strategies, while sustaining and maintaining the quality of the All-Volunteer Force. (United States, 2014)

In 2011, then President Obama laid out eight overarching counterterrorism goals to create a framework for the U.S. global counterterrorism mission. First and foremost is to protect American people the homeland and American interests. This goal includes protecting and promoting American interests both at home and abroad. Second it to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and its affiliates. This goal is aimed at defeating and destroying all terrorist organizations that pose a threat to America and its allies or that wish to do harm to American and its allies. The third goal is to prevent terrorist development, acquisition and use of