Corps weighs merits of Africa task force - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Corps weighs merits of Africa task force

Talks are underway to add a special-purpose Marine air-ground task force to U.S. Africa Command, a move that would center on expanding efforts to train African militaries, officials say.

The plan is “purely in the conceptual phase,” said Master Sgt. Grady Fontana, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Africa, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. “… It’s just something that people are talking about as a way that can help support Africa Command.”

MAGTFs are quick-reaction units that range in size. The smallest comprise only a handful of troops, while the largest include thousands. Media reports published in December suggest as many as 1,000 Marines could be stationed in Europe as part of an AfriCom MAGTF, though neither the Marine Corps nor AfriCom would confirm how large this task force could be.

And both entities were careful when speculating about future basing options, saying only that prospective locations are being studied and that Europe, with its established infrastructure and proximity to Africa, is a logical contender. Locating a MAGTF on the African continent is not an option, officials said, even though Marines already deploy to Camp Lemonier, a joint expeditionary base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia.

“It’s phenomenally diplomatically sensitive when you start talking about stationing troops in Africa,” said Vince Crawley, a spokesman for AfriCom.

Stationing a MAGTF in Europe may help sidestep political sensitivities among African leaders already abuzz over the thought of Marines in their backyard. Ongoing U.S. missions such as the deadly September raid that targeted an al-Qaida operative in Somalia have done little to soothe those fears.

High-level negotiations

If a MAGTF is added to AfriCom, a great deal of political wrangling and diplomacy would need to take place first, officials said. Such negotiations likely would include U.S. politicians and members of the State Department.

“If the concept does go forward, it would be well-discussed with our partners,” Crawley said. “U.S. Africa Command’s leadership and staff meet regularly and frequently with the leadership of African nations and regional organizations to discuss security matters, as well as to provide updates on the evolution of Africa Command and U.S. military partnerships in Africa.”

The youngest of the Defense Department’s geographic commands, AfriCom was established in October 2007 and has never had a permanent Marine Corps element attached to it. Despite the diplomatic challenges that may lie ahead, a MAGTF would help AfriCom’s efforts to train African militaries by giving the fledgling command a dedicated group of troops to call upon when needed, Fontana said.

“Having a [Marine] unit available … provides this command the ability to improve engagements and be more responsive to other missions, such as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance,” Fontana said.

Marines already conduct regular bi-national training with a number of African nations, including Egypt, Kenya, Benin and Senegal. The size and makeup of these training teams varies from mission to mission. Marines are requested based on the skills needed to complete the task at hand, be it air-support training or instruction on urban combat tactics.

Having Marines assigned to Africa for longer periods of time could give them more time to conduct Africa-specific cultural training, making those exercises more effective and resulting in stronger ties with partner nations, Fontana said.

AfriCom was created when the Horn of Africa gained greater focus as the U.S. increased efforts to disrupt suspected terrorist activities in countries with unstable governments. A permanent Marine task force also could prove valuable to counter-terrorism efforts throughout the region.