Are there us troops in africa

If the United States learns anything from the horrors of the coronavirus pandemic, let it be that American priorities have been misaligned and off-kilter for some time. If the United States wants to advance its objectives in the region, the government needs to focus on the most impactful missions, fix its counterterrorism programming, and favor early interventions and enduring partnerships with African counterparts.

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All rights reserved. Skip to main content. Photo: U. Embassy Senegal. Judd Devermont. Leanne Erdberg Steadman. Media Queries. Townsend told Congress in March that Al-Shabaab remains a threat to neighboring countries like Kenya and Uganda, where the group has carried out attacks in the past. Karns declined to discuss whether U. Kyle Rempfer is an editor and reporter whose investigations have covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents.

Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U. Your Army. By Kyle Rempfer. Dec 21, The documents, from the th Air Expeditionary Group based at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, show that the US and partner nations conducted more than ground missions against al-Shabab between June and June This number is no anomaly. Another major theatre of US special operations is northwest Africa.

Those troops belonged to Operational Detachment-Alpha Team , an man unit working with a Nigerien force under the umbrella of Juniper Shield. Under Juniper Shield, US Special Operations forces have long trained, advised, assisted, and accompanied local partner forces conducting missions aimed at terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Boko Haram and IS. The other key activity in the region is Exercise Flintlock — an annual special operations training exercise, conducted by Special Operations Command Africa, focused on enhancing the capability of nations in West Africa to plan and conduct counterterrorism missions.

Libya has also been a major focus. Last year, the United States withdrew its commandos from Libya as the civil war there flared.

But that has not, apparently, halted US operations focused on Libya. A sister operation named Odyssey Resolve, involving intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights over Libya, was another component of the special operations campaign of air strikes in Sirte and was also ongoing as of February.

Not all of the places where US commandos operate in Africa are in or near war zones. It includes everything from weapons training to air and ground assault simulations. As such, we conduct a variety of military-to-military engagement that at times includes special forces. This is not true of all the countries with which the US has partnered.

By Meghann Myers. Tuesday, Apr US airstrikes in Somalia continue at rapid pace even after force relocation AFRICOM has completed six airstrikes in Somalia since began, three of which occurred since a majority of troops in Somalia were relocated earlier this month. By Harm Venhuizen. About Meghann Myers.