STUTTGART, Germany - A September 2008 photo of the headquarters of U.S. Africa Command on Kelley Barracks. Kelley Barracks, on the outskirts of Stuttgart, was originally built for the German military in the late 1930s. (Photo by Vince Crawley, U.S. Africa Command)

Oct 18, 2008 — United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, one of six of the Defense Department's regional military headquarters, was declared a fully unified command on October 1, 2008. As such, Africa Command has administrative responsibility for U.S. military support to U.S. government policy in Africa, to include military-to-military relationships with 53 African nations. The other five regional commands and their locations are: U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Florida; U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany; U.S. Northern Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado; U.S. Pacific Command, Honolulu, Hawaii; and U.S. Southern Command, Miami, Florida.

Commander: General William E. "Kip" Ward, United States Army
Deputy to the Commander for Military Operations:
Vice Admiral Robert T. Moeller, United States Navy
Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities:
Ambassador Tony Holmes, United States Department of State

Chain of Command: The commander of Africa Command reports to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, who reports to the President of the United States. In individual countries, U.S. Ambassadors continue to be the President's personal representatives in diplomatic relations with host nations.

AFRICOM Mission: United States Africa Command, in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners, conducts sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs, military-sponsored activities, and other military operations as directed to promote a stable and secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign policy.

Partnering with African Nations: Through strong and lasting strategic partnerships with African partners and by delivering sustained, effective, and coherent security cooperation programs, U.S. Africa Command helps foster a more stable and secure Africa:

• where military organizations perform professionally and with integrity;
• that promotes legitimate and professional security institutions;
• that has the will and means to direct, dissuade, deter and defeat transnational threats;
• and whose militaries and governments are increasingly capable of supporting continental and international peace efforts.

U.S. Africa Command's theater strategic objectives:

• Defeat the Al-Qaeda terrorist organizations and its associated networks;


• Ensure peace operations capacity exists to respond to emerging crises, and continental peace support operations are effectively fulfilling mission requirements;
• Cooperate with identified African states in the creation of an environment inhospitable to the unsanctioned possession and proliferation on WMD;


• Improve security sector governance and increased stability through military support to comprehensive, holistic and enduring USG efforts in designated states;


• Protect populations from deadly contagions.

Personnel: U.S. Africa Command projects a staff of 1,300 personnel for its headquarters and joint subordinate activities, half of whom are civilian employees, including representatives from non-military agencies of the U.S. government. As of September 1, 2009, more than 1,200 personnel were assigned.

Location: Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart-Moehringen, Germany. In the near term, AFRICOM will focus on working with Embassies, Country Teams, and Offices of Defense Cooperation to strengthen existing military-to-military relationships. If our African partners and the U.S. government agree that further cooperation would benefit from a more robust Africa Command presence, we will consult accordingly and determine the best way to proceed.

Funding: The U.S. Africa Command transition team was budgeted for approximately $50 million in Fiscal Year 2007, and the command received $75.5 million for Fiscal Year 2008 and $310 million for Fiscal Year 2009. The Obama administration has requested $278 million for U.S. Africa Command for Fiscal Year 2010.

Key dates:
September 2, 1958: U.S. Department of State establishes Africa Bureau.
October 3, 1983: U.S. European Command becomes responsible for U.S. military relations with sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the Horn of Africa. U.S. Pacific Command is responsible for Indian Ocean island nations.
February 6, 2007: President Bush and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the creation of U.S. Africa Command.
October 1, 2007: U.S. Africa Command formally began initial operations, with the goal of building the headquarters over the next year and preparing the staff to assume responsibilities for U.S. military-to-military relationships in Africa.
March 13, 2008: General Ward testifies before U.S. Congress.
October 1, 2008: U.S. Africa Command became an independent Unified Command, assuming responsibility for U.S. military relationships, programs and activities in Africa.
November 21, 2008: Ward visits African Union.
March 17, 2009: Ward testifies before U.S. Congress.

Supporting the U.S. Department of State: U.S. Africa Command supports the U.S. Department of State in the achievement of US foreign policy objectives in Africa. In addition and where appropriate, U.S. Africa Command provides personnel and logistical support to State Department-funded activities. Command personnel work closely with U.S. embassies in Africa to coordinate training programs to improve African nations’ security capacity.