U.S. Africa Command Mission Statement

U.S. Africa Command, with partners, counters transnational threats and malign actors, strengthens security forces and responds to crises in order to advance U.S. national interests and promote regional security, stability and prosperity.

Our Approach

U.S. Africa Command most effectively advances U.S. national security interests through focused, sustained engagement with partners in support of our shared security objectives. The command's operations, exercises and security cooperation programs support U.S. Government foreign policy, primarily through military-to-military activities and assistance programs. These activities, coordinated with U.S. embassy country teams and each African partner nation, build strong, enduring partnerships to improve security and stability in Africa.

Our core mission of assisting African states and regional organizations to strengthen their defense capabilities better enables Africans to address their security threats and reduces threats to U.S. interests. We concentrate our efforts on contributing to the development of capable and professional militaries that respect human rights, adhere to the rule of law, and more effectively contribute to stability in Africa.

Security Cooperation 

The command offers a suite of institutional capacity-building programs designed to improve the capabilities of defense institutions in the areas of accountability, rule of law and professional military education, while providing a framework within which the command engages with regional partners in cooperative military activities and development.

Security Cooperation programs include International Military and Education Training, which exposes foreign students to U.S. professional military organizations and procedures and the manner in which military organizations function under civilian control, and Africa Partnership Station, which builds maritime safety and security by increasing maritime awareness, response capabilities and infrastructure.

Conditions for success of our security cooperation programs and activities in Africa are established through hundreds of engagements supporting a wide range of activities, including humanitarian assistance.

These capacity-building activities complement Department of State programs and are planned with the U.S. embassy country teams and partner nations. We focus on the development of professional militaries which are disciplined, capable, and responsible to civilian authorities and committed to the well-being of their citizens and protecting human rights. Our efforts focus on increasing the capability and capacity of African partner nations to serve as trained, equipped agents of stability and security in Africa.

Additional Programs

U.S. Africa Command continually engages through a wide range of engagement activities to enhance security and stability throughout Africa. These efforts include implementing Women, Peace and Security initiatives to better leverage the capabilities of both men and women to achieve shared goals, and the Africa Enlisted Development Strategy, which aims to  standardize existing African professional military education institutions that can train not only their own nation’s forces but also those of neighboring countries and create or improve regional centers of excellence.

Exercises

U.S. Africa Command and its component and subordinate forces conduct training with their partner nation counterparts, representing U.S. core values during the command’s joint and combined exercises. The exercises conducted enhance partner nation capabilities, promote regional security and interoperability, and reinforce a professional military ethos among African military partners.

For example, Flintlock is an annual exercise to foster regional cooperation to enable our African partners to stabilize North and West Africa. 

Africa Endeavor is designed to enhance collaboration between African, U.S. and other stakeholders on communications interoperability, doctrinal guidance, and capacity-building activities.

Cutlass Express is one of three express-series exercises, led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, focused on maritime domain awareness and law enforcement while promoting national and regional maritime security.

U.S. Africa Command, in coordination with national, international, and regional partners, conducts Military Information Support Operations (MISO) to support Department of Defense communication efforts specifically intended to improve regional stability and security cooperation; counter violent extremist organizations (C-VEO); counter illicit activities; and counter malign adversarial influence within the U.S. Africa Command geographic area of responsibility.

Through 2023, U.S. Africa Command and its subordinate commands will continue to conduct MISO activities primarily through, but not limited to, current and emergent communication technologies such as print media, radio, text messages, face-to-face, television, social media, and websites.

C-VEO MISO activities are primarily aimed at delegitimizing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and their branches operating in Africa, al-Qaida and their adherents and affiliates operating in Africa such as Al-Shabaab, as well as, other U.S. designated foreign terrorist organizations including, but not limited to, Boko Haram. Although these activities may be conducted throughout the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility, these efforts are focused on audiences residing primarily in the Lake Chad Basin (Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Mali); Horn of Africa (Somalia and Kenya); in the Maghreb (Libya and Tunisia); and in/around the Gulf of Guinea countries (Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Gabon, and Congo).

As required, MISO efforts will also support activities such as maritime operations, noncombatant evacuations, humanitarian assistance, personnel recovery, and aiding deployed forces operational efforts in response to instability. Additionally, MISO activities support joint training events with our partners throughout the region to more effectively address our shared security concerns and promote the positive impacts of adherence to the rule of law and military professionalism.

U.S. Africa Command  MISO activities are coordinated with U.S. government agencies and partner nations. In accordance with U.S. Code and Department of Defense policy, intentionally directing MISO at U.S. citizens is specifically prohibited and will not be employed on USAFRICOM information dissemination platforms intended for U.S. audiences.

U.S. Africa Command  is working with partners in, but not limited to, Somalia, Kenya, Libya, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to offer and pay rewards for information and/or non-lethal assistance that is beneficial to counterterrorism operations or contributes to the force protection of U.S. and partner forces.