AFRICOM staff to grow to 1,300 as it takes over military activities

[unhappycamper]

AFRICOM staff to grow to 1,300 as it takes over military activities
By Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, January 29, 2008

STUTTGART, Germany — By the time it becomes fully operational on Oct. 1, the U.S. Africa Command will be home to about 1,300 Defense Department personnel: 500 more than originally estimated, a top command official said Monday.

The military’s newest headquarters command — made up largely of planners, logisticians and analysts — also will be staying in Stuttgart for the foreseeable future, said Vice Adm. Robert T. Moeller, deputy to the commander for military operations, in an interview Monday at AFRICOM headquarters.

“From here we can do all the activities we need to do with our African partners,” Moeller said.

The eventual staff of 1,300 does not include people coming from other agencies. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development will place staff at AFRICOM. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps also are forming small component commands to address needs in Africa that are specific to those service branches, he said.

Other U.S. agencies, such as the departments of Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Agriculture, are being examined for ways to contribute to the command.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52009

[Squatch]

1. AFRICOM is a fabulous concept.

:thumbsup:

[Sweet Pea]

2. Agreed

We need the presence there for whatever good we can conjure up. Having spent some time in Djibouti, there is more than a fair amount of goodwill that exists for a US command. The fact that this will minimize the military element adds to the potential for success.

[Squatch]

3. I sat in on a talk the Undersecretary of State for Africa gave last month

and she said the same thing. Nations like Liberia, Sierra Leone, and others are really lobbying to be the country in which AFRICOM is headquartered. If ever given the opportunity to serve down there, I will probably jump at the chance.