Security

Africa Command: Not Actually in Africa

Hunh? The U.S. military’s newest command, Africa Command, could have only a small minority of its people actually working on the continent. Theresa Whelan, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, told a Washington- based think tank last week that 80 percent of the command’s staff would live outside of Africa. Whelan did […]

Hunh?

The U.S.
military’s newest command, Africa Command, could have only a small minority of its people actually working on the continent.

Theresa Whelan, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for
African affairs, told a Washington- based think tank last week that 80
percent of the command’s staff would live outside of Africa.

Whelan did not say where the majority of staff would be located, but the command, called AFRICOM, is currently forming up in Stuttgart,
Germany. The Defense Department has previously called Stuttgart a temporary headquarters for AFRICOM.

The command is scheduled to begin initial operations on Monday. It would coordinate U.S. military activities on the continent such as military-to-military training and support of humanitarian missions.