US Africa Command

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US Africa Command

• AFRICOM

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Presidential Direction

• President Bush directed the establishment of US
  Africa Command 7 Feb 07
• Interim establishment in Stuttgart, Germany
• Interim Operating Capability 1 Oct 07
• Full Operating Capability 1 Oct 08

This new command will strengthen our security
cooperation with Africa and help to create new
opportunities to bolster the capabilities of our
partners in Africa. Africa Command will enhance
our efforts to help bring peace and security to
the people of Africa and promote our common goals
of development, health, education, democracy, and
economic growth in Africa. President George
Bush February 7, 2007
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SECDEF Direction

• Organic capacity for non-kinetic and limited
  military missions
• Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Relief, Medical
  Assistance, Security Cooperation, Capacity
  Building, etc.
• Primarily oriented toward Theater Security
  Cooperation
• Capable of limited military operations (GWOT,
  Special Ops, NEO)
• Requires external support for large missions
• AFRICOM will be Sub-unified at IOC Unified
  Command at FOC
• Four-Star Commander and other GO/FO nominations
  by 30 Jun 07
• CDRUSAFRICOM in place prior to IOC
• Final location of AFRICOM HQ TBD
• Possibly co-located with a DoS Regional Hub

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USAFRICOM Concept

• U.S. Africa Command will support U.S. Government
  activities across Africa to
• Synchronize selected US Interagency efforts
• Reinforce diplomatic and developmental efforts
• Consolidate Africa responsibilities of three
  commands into one
• Goal is significant interagency representation
  from the beginning

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AFRICOM Status

• Transition team established 1 Feb 07 at Kelley
  Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany to focus on
  development and activation of the Command
• Transition responsibilities to USAFRICOM
• Develop USAFRICOM personnel and resources
• Define mission and mission requirements
• Refine Command organization and structure
• Recommend possible USAFRICOM HQ locations on the
  continent
• Consultations with key friends, partners and
  allies
• African partners
• European partners
• US government interagency

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Proposed Area of Responsibility
UNCLASSIFIED
1 Oct 08
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AFRICOM Tasks

• Work with African states, regional organizations,
  and other partners to
• Build Partnership Capacity
• Support USG agencies in implementing security
  policies
• Conduct Theater Security Cooperation activities
• Increase partner counter-terrorism skills
• Enhance humanitarian assistance, disaster
  mitigation, and response activities
• Foster respect for human rights
• Support African regional organizations
• As directed, conduct military operations

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What does AFRICOM require from Open Source
Information?
1 Inform the Common Operating Picture for the
Command 2 Enable AFRICOM to build
informational products that we can easily share
with our allies and partners 3 Allow AFRICOM
to constantly measure popular perceptions through
media analysis and polling 4 Empower analysts
with the resources and tools to leverage the all
forms of OSINT available
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AFRICOMs Information Challenges

• AFRICOM missions demand teamwork with allies and
  partners
• Information is critical for success of any
  mission and successful partnership requires
  releasable information shared among the partners
• In Africa, much of this data demographic,
  medical, economic, historical, political,
  agricultural, environmental exists in
  unclassified sources
• How does AFRICOM optimize Open Source?
• Rely upon enduring bonds with the Intelligence
  Community liaison and exchange offices
• Develop expert cadre of open source researchers
• Build a culture that values open source
• Create products and processes that we can share
  with allies and partners
• Explore new opportunities for OSINT partnerships

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Conclusion

• Establishing USAFRICOM recognizes the strategic
  importance of Africa
• Goal is innovative interagency structure
• Emphasis on building partnership capacity to
  strengthen security stability
• Open Source Intelligence will play a critical
  role

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