As the U.S. Africa Command continues to develop its organizational structure, a primary focus is to ensure a smooth transition of programs and activities to AFRICOM from the European, Central, and Pacific Commands.

This message was communicated by Vice Admiral Robert Moeller, Deputy for Military Operations for the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), as he discussed "the road ahead for AFRICOM" on May 27, 2008, during a presentation for the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Currently, the responsibilities for programs and activities in Africa are divided among three geographic commands: the European Command (EUCOM), the Central Command (CENTCOM), and the Pacific Command (PACOM). The development of AFRICOM provides one primary headquarters, which will focus solely on the African continent and allow these efforts to receive higher priority.

"Our African partners should expect no interruption, no disruption, or perturbation of any ongoing activity when we assume responsibility for all these activities on the first of October," said Moeller. "Making sure that we, in fact, deliver on that requires an extensive amount of planning."

Some challenges facing the command in its planning stages include staffing, interagency concerns, and responding to common misconceptions and negative publicity.

Because of AFRICOM's unique structure, which includes an integration of both civilian and military personnel, meeting staffing requirements continues to be a challenge. According to Moeller, the recruitment of civilian staff from U.S. government agencies has presented a number of difficulties because of the differences in the recruiting process between the two groups.

Hiring civilians requires a set process, involving the development of position descriptions, advertising, an intense screening process, and other actions that take much time and staffing to complete.

While subject-matter experts from U.S. government agencies are a critical component to the command's success, Moeller also acknowledged the limited capacity of these agencies to free up enough employees for AFRICOM, so that their ability to function is not hindered.

"We have a lot to learn ourselves about the exact, specific skill set that we would look for from other U.S. government agencies to be able to bring that subject-matter expertise to that organization, so that, in fact, we can harmonize all our efforts," said Moeller.

In spite of staffing challenges, Moeller expressed much optimism in the future of the organization. "It's an ongoing consultation process," remarked Moeller, adding that it's being done with "tremendous enthusiasm."

Moeller also addressed some of the most common concerns sparking debate among the public. The location of AFRICOM's headquarters has been at the heart of many debates, with many people incorrectly assuming the command's top priority is to base its headquarters on the continent of Africa.

Reiterating that the command would be based in Stuttgart, Germany, for the foreseeable future, Moeller explained that this location was chosen based on its proximity to the African continent, as compared to a city in the United States, as well as the proximity to the European Command, which currently maintains responsibility for 40 African nations, and is also based in Stuttgart.

Rather than move the headquarters onto the African continent, Moeller explained that AFRICOM's intention is to inherit existing U.S. military representation in African nations, to include liaison officers and Offices of Security Cooperation which are co-located with U.S. embassies to coordinate Defense Department programs.

"There may be an opportunity at some point in the future to put perhaps a more substantial presence on the continent, but that's something to be worked out at some point well into the future," he said. "First and foremost, from our perspective is the need to work the activities and programs with our African partners."

Also, he emphasized, "We're not going to go anywhere that we're not invited."

Additionally, Moeller addressed the concern that AFRICOM is attempting to enter into the foreign policy realm. The command's purpose is not to set foreign policy, but rather to support the U.S. Department of State and the government agencies working in Africa through military-to-military programs on the continent.

He expressed support for the foreign policy set by the State Department, explaining, "There were some concerns expressed that perhaps what we were doing is kind of reaching in and looking to assume responsibility for U.S. foreign policy in Africa. That is absolutely not the case."

AFRICOM will work closely with government agencies, and has even created a position of "senior development advisor" which is filled by a USAID senior representative who reports directly to Ambassador Yates, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities. Moving forward, AFRICOM will continue to support these agencies while working with African partner nations to determine a set of priorities and activities that will provide the most benefits to each nation.

The full transcript of the presentation and Q&A session by Deputy Moeller is available on the Brookings Institution Website at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2008/0527_africom/0527_africom.pdf.