In Africa, the U.S. Military Sees Enemies Everywhere

Many of the Guys i was in service with are employed with Civilian operations working in Africa... they worked beside "Host" nation forces and the reality is they are watching a perimeter of 360 walking out of the secure compound...

Stationed with CJTF-HOA 2008 - 2009. I was part of the CJ9 STRATCOM Cell and traveled all over the HOA. One of my best trips overseas ever. I think it was so great because I traveled so much. Had a CHU in Djibouti that I would stay in about one week a month. One thing I can say is, I don't think there is a hotter place on earth. Only being 11 degrees off the equator. I have seen wet-bulb temperatures of 148 degrees. Another neat thing was I deployed to CJTF-HOA on CENTCOM orders and Re-deployed on AFRICOM orders. The time was 5 months under CENTCOM and 7 months under AFRICOM.

We have been working in Aferica going back to 2003 HOA, it was a Navy mission in the beginning, Seabees were building launch type basses in some crazy places. We have also conducting several Civil Humanitarian Mission supporting the CA (Civil Affairs) objective all over Africa, Also Military to Military operations and training. This is not new it is just making the news. We have elements supporting SOCAFRICA and also AFRICOM different missions. They have detachments in Somalia, Uganda,Nigeria and other places. This is open source information,You can see the deployments listed in Navy times and you can also figure if they have white side elements that SOCOM has elements there also. The detachments that operate in that AOR, Have full weapons PAX they take with them, in what we call weapons box'S and are briefed and have contingency plan if something goes wrong 0-100 in a minute.