GENERAL HAM'S AFRICA REPORT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Ham Reports Progress Against al-Shabab in AfricaBy Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE, Aug. 22, 2012 - Calling the elimination of safe havens and support for terrorist groups in Africa his top priority, the commander of U.S. Africa Command reported that U.S. support for Somalia's military has had a direct impact in degrading the al-Shabab terror organization there.

"The performance of African militaries in Somalia ... has been extraordinary," Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told Soldiers Radio and Television Service reporter Gail McCabe during closing ceremonies for exercise Southern Accord here.

Ham noted the U.S. government role in training and equipping these forces and the impact it has had in increasing the African partners' counterterrorism capabilities.

"They really have degraded the capability of al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate operating in Somalia, where most of Somali territory is no longer receptive to al-Shabab," he said. "They certainly still have some strong points, but are [al-Shabab is] greatly diminished over the last year, because of the role of Africans."

While holding up Somalia as a positive trend on the continent, Ham acknowledged progress elsewhere remains mixed. He noted Mali, where about two-thirds of the country "is essentially outside the control of the interim government ... and is largely controlled by transnational terrorist organizations."

Ham called the terrorist threat his most pressing challenge. "In fact, I would say it is my highest priority, as the geographic combatant commander, ... to protect America, Americans and American interests from threats that emerge from the continent of Africa," he said. "And at present, the most dangerous of those threats are transnational terrorists."

Countering this threat is the common denominator that drives Ham's theater engagement strategy and its broad array of operations, exercises and security cooperation programs. This includes teaching partner nations how to improve their border security, intelligence and tactical capabilities and equipping African nations so they can operate more effectively.

It's an effort Ham said involves the entire U.S. interagency – the departments of State, Commerce, Treasury and Justice, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations – as they coordinate efforts to help address the underlying causes that create an environment where terrorists can operate.

The president's recently released policy directive for sub-Saharan Africa recognizes the importance of security in advancing economic development that lays the foundation for democracy, Ham noted.

"The two are interrelated," he said. "You can't really have good, strong economic development if there is not security and stability."

So Africom focuses on helping African partners promote security and stability. "We think it is important that we help African nations develop their own capabilities to provide their own security and also to begin the capability to contribute more expansively to regional security," Ham said.

U.S. engagements in Africa, such as Southern Accord, are tailored to help partners build capacity and to respect the rule of law, the general said. "What we are really trying to do is help you build security forces that are not only tactically capable, but forces that are genuinely responsive to legitimate civilian control – that operate according to the rule of law and see themselves as servants of that nation,'" he explained. "And we are seeing that over and over again, and we certainly see that here in Botswana."

Promoting that kind of engagement requires close relationships that are built over time. "It is all about relationships," Ham said. "It is the ability to talk to a chief of defense or minister of defense and in some cases, heads of state to convey to them what it is that we are trying to do, and make sure they understand that we ... don't want to do anything that they don't want us to do."

A true partnership benefits all the participants, Ham said, recognizing the gains both U.S. service members and Botswana Defense Force members received as they worked together during Southern Accord.

Ham said he's sometimes asked why what the United States needs a combatant command focused on Africa and why what happens in Africa matters to the United States. "I could easily say there are a billion reasons," he said, recognizing the African continent's population.

But also citing global economies and the global nature of security challenges, Ham emphasized that "what happens in Africa affects us in the United States."

"So I think there is a whole host of reasons why America and Americans should care about advancing our interests in Africa," he said. "And security is one component of an overall U.S. approach."

GENERAL HAM SAYS AFRICAN EXERCISE ENDED IN SUCCESS

Marine Corps Cpl. Aaron Bohlen helps a Botswanan soldier fire a non-lethal weapon at a range at Thebephatshwa Air Base, Botswana, during Southern Accord 12. DOD photo by Donna Miles
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
　
Ham Closes Southern Accord Praising U.S.-Botswana Partnership

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE, Botswana, Aug. 16, 2012 - The commander of U.S. Africa Command closed one of the largest joint exercises ever conducted on the African continent here today, praising the Botswanan military as a capable partner and an important and positive influence throughout southern Africa.
　
Army Gen. Carter F. Ham closed Exercise Southern Accord 12, a joint, three-week exercise that included about 700 U.S. soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors and an equal number of their Botswana Defense Force counterparts.
　
Africom says the purpose of the exercise, the first of seven iterations of Southern Accord to be hosted by Botswana, is to train both militaries in peace keeping operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. An ambitious training schedule covered the gamut, from tactical and peacekeeper training to humanitarian road building and medical outreach missions.
　
"Over the past few weeks, American and Botswanan forces together have done a tremendous amount of training, and they have provided needed assistance to many people here in the country of Botswana," Ham said.
　
Though the engineers built roads and ponds during the exercise, he said, "the most important thing they built ... was trust."
　
That, he told a formation of U.S. and Botswanan troops assembled for the ceremony, helped to deepen an already-strong professional relationship between the two militaries. "It is the friendship, the partnership, the cooperation, the trust that has been built that will endure," he said.
　
Ham, on his first trip to Botswana since taking command of U.S. Africa Command about a year and a half ago, said the visit reinforced his appreciation for the Botswana Defense Force's capabilities. "From my observation, the Botswana Defense Force is one of the most professional military organizations that I have encountered," he said.
　
Maj. Gen. Placig Segokgo, deputy commander of the Botswana Defense Force, said the exercise offered his troops a chance to showcase that professionalism. "It provides an opportunity for us to benchmark ourselves against the very best," he said. "And it provides an opportunity for us to show ourselves to our American counterparts."
　
Achieving the ambitious objectives of Southern Accord with flying colors only enhanced that capability, and well as that of the U.S. participants, Ham said.
　
"I know that the U.S. military personnel depart Botswana better trained than when they arrived," he said. "And I am confident also that the Botswana Defense Force is better trained at the conclusion of this exercise."
　
Earlier in the day, Ham got a chance to see that proficiency firsthand during a live-fire field training exercise that culminated three weeks of intensive training exchanges. The scenario included a Botswanan-led air assault onto a landing zone, with Botswanan and U.S. forces moving onto an objective to take out elements of a notional enemy force. "This is a complete integration of U.S. and BDF soldiers," Army Lt. Col. Bill Gray, the joint task force operations officer, told Carter during the pre-mission briefing.
　
Among lessons reinforced during the exercise is the importance of strong junior- and mid-level officers, noncommissioned officers and warrant officers who serve as models and mentors for younger troops, Ham told reporters before the ceremony.
　
"We need to empower them, we need to train them, we need to help them become [the best] leaders they can possibly be, because they are the leaders at the tip of the spear," he said.
　
"Whether it is a combat operation or humanitarian assistance, it is most often a lieutenant or a sergeant or a staff sergeant or a corporal who is leading those soldiers," Ham said. "And the more investment we can make in training those junior leaders, the better off we will all be."
　
Ham recognized the strong leadership skills both militaries exhibited as they took on the challenges presented to them. "You have all, Botswanans and Americans, demonstrated during this exercise that you are prepared to take on a variety of challenging missions," he said, most importantly, their own national defense.
　
The nature of Southern Accord, with its mix of joint, combined operations that included interagency and nongovernmental aspects, reflects the type of operations the two countries are likely to conduct, Ham noted. "So the more opportunities we have to rehearse the practice those scenarios in a training exercise such as Southern Accord, the better off we will all be," he said.
　
This has far-reaching impact in the region, Ham told the assembly. "The Botswana Defense Force is, indeed, an important partner for the United States that provides a very positive influence throughout the Southern African region," he said.