CJTF-HOA welcomes new commander, senior enlisted leader

Leadership changes hands at Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Command

"I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to you all for your tireless efforts and the immeasurable sacrifices that you make in support of peace and security as we move forward, together.”

By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Eric Summers Jr. , Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti Apr 19, 2016

View Gallery

Gallery contains 4 images

CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa welcomed U.S. Army Brig. Gen Kurt L. Sonntag and said farewell to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Stammer during a change of command ceremony April 13, 2016, at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. U.S. Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commanding general for U.S. Africa Command, presided over the ceremony.

Sonntag, a California native, assumed command of CJTF-HOA after serving as commanding general for the Special Operations Command South at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. He is now responsible for overseeing CJTF-HOA’s efforts in countering violent extremism in East Africa, fostering regional security cooperation, and building and maintaining U.S. strategic access in the region.

“Brig. Gen. Kurt Sonntag and Command Master Chief Geoffrey Steffee come to us from Special Operations Command South, another theater heavily focused on building partner capacity and working by, with and through their armed forces to achieve success,” Rodriquez said. “I look forward to seeing how you will bring this experience to bear in this new challenge. I know all of the U.S. partner teams and HOA welcome you to this dynamic command and wish you well.”

Before presenting his first salute as commander, Sonntag addressed the men and women of CJTF-HOA.

“CJTF-HOA, I am honored to enter your ranks and humbled to accept command of this great team and the wide range of vital missions it oversees,” Sonntag said

The change of command also featured a change of responsibility during which U.S. Navy Command Master Chief Geoffrey P. Steffee assumed the role of the CJTF-HOA command senior enlisted leader.

Steffee succeeded U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Butler J. Kendrick Jr., and is now responsible for leading, mentoring, enforcing standards of good order and discipline, and advising and assisting the CJTF-HOA commander on all matters pertaining to the health, morale, welfare and professional development for approximately 2,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines joint service personnel.

Prior to being selected for this assignment, the Texas native served as the senior enlisted leader at Special Operations Command South, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.

Before departing Stammer shared his final thoughts of having led the men and women of CJTF-HOA.

“I have greatly enjoyed my time at CJTF-HOA, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, and greater Eastern Africa,” Stammer said. “America’s forces carry a nation’s task on their shoulders. They interact with the people, practice diplomacy, dream of a better life; all the while they are prepared to apply just the right amount of force precisely, decisively, and absolutely. None do it better than the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen of CJTF-HOA side by side with our vast array of partners. I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to you all for your tireless efforts and the immeasurable sacrifices that you make in support of peace and security as we move forward, together.”

U.S. Forces conduct strike against al Shabaab

Federal Government of Somalia engages ISIS-Somalia with support from U.S. Forces

U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting al Shabaab

Africa Endeavor

U.S. Forces conduct strike against ISIS-Somalia

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

CJTF-HOA welcomes new commander, senior enlisted leader

Leadership changes hands at Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Command

CJTF-HOA image

CJTF-HOA Command image

CJTF-HOA Command image

CJTF-HOA Command image