# Training In Trans-sahara Africa



## Ravage (Dec 10, 2010)

http://news.soc.mil/releases/News Archive/2010/December/101209-02.html

GAO, Mali (USASOC News  Service, Dec. 9, 2010) – The  Malian patrol finally reached its objective, a small  village north of  Gao, following a long drive through the northern territories  of vast  desert in this Trans-Saharan nation slightly smaller than twice the   size of Texas.
The platoon leader had been with this specially   trained counter-terrorism unit, the Echelon Tactique Interarmé, or ETIA,  for  some time and knew his men as well as the area.
“Establish defensive  positions,” he radioed in Bambara, the  predominant African language in the  region, signaling the patrol to  establish a perimeter while he waited for the  Americans following the  patrol to arrive and accompany him into the village.
“Les vehicules ont bien fait (The vehicles did  well),”  one of the  American officers, a 91st  Civil Affairs Bn.  captain commented in French to the Malian leader as the other  American  officer, the Special Operations Forces Liaison Element , or SOFLE,  from  the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), looked on.
The Malian   smiled  and nodded.   He was grateful for the  all-terrain pickup  trucks which had been provided by the U.S.  Government the previous year to his  unit to replace old vehicles which  would have never been able to make this  journey.
Together, the platoon  leader and the four Americans greeted  the village leader, an elderly Toureg who  welcomed these familiar  faces.  This  wasn’t their first time at the village and the elderly man  looked forward to  what they might be able to do for his deprived  village.
Later that evening, the SOFLE  sent his situational report to  the Theater Special Operations Command’s task  force and provided  information regarding the vulnerable community as well as  recommendations  for another medical civic action program, or MEDCAP, to  be conducted near the village.
This mission is an example of just one of many  similar  targeted missions the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans  Sahara, or  JSOTF-TS, accomplishes every year in Africa.   Initiated in  late 2006 by a handful of Special Operations officers, the JSOTF-TS   was created  as a unique organization  capable of orchestrating  counter-terrorism objectives under the auspices of the  U.S. State Dept.  initiated and led Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership,  or  TSCTP, with its integrated three-dimensional strategy of diplomacy,   development and defense.

 “The overarching role of the JSOTF-TS is to  orchestrate all Dept.  of Defense efforts and   activities toward accomplishing the TSCTP  objectives, which included  increasing bilateral and regional capacity  in the region to defeat terrorist  and extremist organizations,”  said  U.S.  Army Lt. Col. Chris Call,  former  JSOTF-TS Operations Officer  during  its  inception and earlier development.
 Col. Call explained the unit’s  initial focus was on four  nations which had requested this assistance from the  State Dept., but  soon the TSCTP and the DoD’s Operation Enduring Freedom  (Trans-Sahara)  program, would encompass 10 northern and western African  countries to  form a Joint Operations Area slightly larger than the Continental   United States.
 JSOTF-TS was transferred  to the newly-formed U.S. Africa  Command in October 2008 and then subsequently was  named a subordinate  unit of Special Operations Command Africa in May 2009.  Throughout this  transition, the relatively small  staff of about 40 uniformed personnel  and civilians continued planning, coordinating  and executing the  full-spectrum of OEF-TS programs in the Trans-Saharan region.
 This included managing more than 30 U.S.  SOF-conducted  military training engagements annually designed to enhance the   counter-terrorism skills of pre-designated units and nearly 30 medical  and  about 15 veterinary civic action programs synchronized by its Civil  Military  Support Element in conjunction with local and national health  authorities and  non-governmental organizations.
  The  JSOTF-TS was also planning, managing and disbursing  organizational equipment and  vehicles   to equip indigenous units in  their security functions and developing as  well as  overseeing the  JSOTF-TS created Trans-Sahara  Security Symposium, an African taught  week-long academic civil-military  cooperation national and  regional-focused forum targeted for African military  and civilian  representatives.
        Additionally, JSOTF-TS  also assumed the monumental  task of planning, coordinating and executing the  multi-national SOF  exercise Flintlock, which evolved as AFRICOM’s premier SOF  exercise on  the continent.

“Flintlock is the  culmination of all military training engagements  conducted at the tactical level  with our host nation partners, where we  bring them together at the regional  level under a multi-national  operational headquarters,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col.  John Williamson,  exercise planner for two Flintlock exercises.  “The Flintlock exercise  series was greatly  enhanced with the establishment of a Multi-National  Coordination Center, or MCC.  The Flintlock MCC has advanced our efforts   towards a regional approach to counter-terrorism in terms of  operational level  coordination and communication to support tactical  operations in countries such  as Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Chad,”  Williamson said.
 “Additionally, the  increased participation of our European  SOF partners such as Germany, the  Netherlands, and Spain in tactical  training and MCC activities underscores the  importance of our desire  for an international approach toward trans-border  terrorist threats,”  he added.
 The methodology of effort exerted by JSOTF-TS over the years,   maintaining consultation and coordination lines with servicing U.S.  Embassies and  other existing civilian and military capabilities and  actors in the area of  responsibility, has made tangible progress.
        Units in Mali and Chad, previously trained and advised  by  U.S. SOF teams in critical counterterrorism battle skills, now  incorporate key  leader engagements in consonance with civil military  operations to secure  vulnerable borders and vast under-governed spaces,  and address the underlying  conditions that provide terrorists and  extremists with recruits, sanctuary and  resources.
 “The JSOTF-TS has consistently  maintained a holistic and  persistent approach toward capacity development in  the region,” said  U.S. Army Col. Nestor A. Sadler, current JSOTF-TS commander.  “Our ‘by,  with and through’ focus  on security assistance reflects itself not   only in the continued development of African special operations units  and their  ability to better secure the vast regions, both nationally  and with their  neighbors, but also in their awareness and approach  toward a common enemy.
 “Tactical and operational progress  for some of these  countries, which are some of the poorest in the world,  demands patience  and the very best of our SOF attributes. The JSOTF-TS has  established  and continues to further reflect that relevancy across the board  and  all the time,” Sadler said.
 On the horizon is Flintlock 11 when  African, North American  and European SOF units and staffs will have another  opportunity to  enhance their capabilities to share information and further  develop  capacities in a multi-national environment, the cornerstone to regional   security and stability.
 “In our CT objectives, we have come  to the point where  African nations have become partners,” Sadler said.  “Flintlock 11 will  be African planned,  coordinated and executed, and we welcome the  opportunity to work with our African  partners in our shared desire for  peace, stability and security in the  Trans-Saharan region.”  
         Flintlock 11 is scheduled to begin  during winter 2011.







> A French-speaking Special Forces NCO advises a Malian military counter-terrorism unit while training on raid tactics at a military installation near Bamako. Under the authorities of the State Department's Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership and the DoD’s Operation Enduring Freedom (Trans-Sahara), U.S. Special Operations Forces provide persistent and consistent training and advisement to pre-designated African units whose mission is to secure the vast areas of the region. (Photos are provided by JSOTF-TS Public Affairs)








> A French-speaking Special Forces NCO watches weapons marksmanship training for a member of a Malian counter-terrorism unit during one of over 30 pre-scheduled military training engagements planned, coordinated and managed by SOCAFRICA’s JSOTF-TS. (Photos are provided by JSOTF-TS Public Affairs)


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## Florida173 (Dec 11, 2010)

Thought I was finally away from any mention of Flintlock!  good stuff though...


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## Viper1 (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm excited about the possibility of working in Africa.  Any thoughts from guys who've been there?


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## Brill (Dec 11, 2010)

Viper1 said:


> I'm excited about the possibility of working in Africa.  Any thoughts from guys who've been there?



Depends on where you go: Mali is pretty chill...seriously. I've never seen a Malian (I don't consider Tuaregs Malian) get angry; it's just not in their nature because their culture is SO passive.  Go North, East, or West and it's a different world for sure.

Opinion: Africa, in general, is a shithole and has been neglected by the world save China and they're just buying up everything with US dollars.  It's the "new" playground for the world's "special services" (hasn't that always been the case?) and there is much work to be done there.  I personally think the FID missions and the 18D's have the best opportunities to REALLY make a difference.

Yes, the soil there really is red from all the blood spilled there.

I love the a/gunner feeding the PKM from the cardboard box in pic #2 and the guy with the "steel" in his ear for earpro.  That is Africa!


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## Teufel (Dec 11, 2010)

Africa can be a good time man!  There is a lot of work to do there.  Both humanitarian and otherwise.


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