by Major Derek E. Lane and Dr. David A. Anderson
Download the full article: AFRICOM: Reconstruction and Stability
Africa Command (AFRICOM), given its unique command structure with coequal deputy commanders from the Department of State (DoS) and Department of Defense (DoD), has an opportunity to partner with African countries and apply theater security cooperation (TSC) and reconstruction and stability (R&S) operations in a more integrated and coherent whole of government approach. However, it will face challenges to integrate all instruments of national power and eliminate interagency (IA) parochialisms in conjunction with a requirement to solicit input from African nations in support of common goals. In order to be successful, AFRICOM must identify a process model through which it will employ its resources that will contain elements of numerous United States Government Department and Agencies (USG-D/A) while coordinating U.S. efforts with international partners, non-governmental organizations (NGO), private venture organizations (PVO) and of critical importance, African nations. After providing a historical perspective on military/interagency integration efforts, along with lessons learned in their application in Iraq and Afghanistan, this paper outlines a way to achieve unified action within AFRICOM via unity of command and unity of effort incorporating all elements of national power. We feature a process that focuses on empowering the Provincial Reconstruction Team-Enhanced (PRT-E) concept enabled through a defined functional command and control structure as the means to achieve regional objectives.
Download the full article: AFRICOM: Reconstruction and Stability
Major Derek E. Lane, USMC, is a career Communications Officer. He is a recent graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and is currently serving as the J6, Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida.
Dr. David A. Anderson is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. He is currently a professor of Strategic Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he teaches strategic and operational studies, as well as economics. He is also an adjunct professor for Webster University, Missouri, where he teaches various international relations courses. He has published numerous articles on military and international relations related topics.
