By General Victor Renuart, commander, U.S. Northern Command; Admiral James Stavridis, commander, U.S. Southern Command; General William Ward, commander, U.S. Africa Command; and General James Mattis, commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command
U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs  Print     Share  

WASHINGTON, D.C., 

Mar 18, 2009 — On March 18, 2009 Ward spoke before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, discussing the initiatives of U.S. Africa Command, in coordination with U.S. government agencies and international partners, to promote a secure and stable African environment.

In his opening statement, Representative Ike Skelton congratulated Ward for his efforts in establishing U.S. Africa Command, stating "You've brought Africa Command from being little more than a concept to becoming a fully operational combatant command, with robust interagency participation."

Skelton briefly discussed the challenges facing Africa Command to include improving its strategic communications and finding an appropriate balance between the command's military and civilian roles.

"Your command must be careful that by virtue of size it does not squeeze out efforts of our civilian agencies, such as the State Department and the USAID."

During his remarks, Ward endorsed enhancements to the capabilities of U.S. AFRICOM's interagency partners and upgrades to key infrastructure nodes on the African continent.

"Given the lack of infrastructure within Africa and the island nations, our sustainment infrastructure, forward operating sites and en-route infrastructure are vital," Ward said.

The below transcript includes introductions by Representative Ike Skelton (Democratic Party-Missouri) and Representative John McHugh (Republican Party-New York), as well as portions of the testimony relating to U.S. Africa Command. Ward testified alongside other senior commanders. Testimony not related to Africa Command has been omitted.


REP. SKELTON: Our committee comes to order. Today's hearing is part of our annual series of posture hearings with combatant commanders.

I'm pleased to welcome Admiral Stavridis of the Southern Command, General Renuart of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, General Mattis, United States Joint Forces Command, and General Ward of the United States Africa Command. We're honored to have each of you with us today. We thank you. I also want to extend my appreciation to all the service men and women who work with you. They provide an invaluable service to our country.

Every day, each of you have intractable challenges that are not always part of the morning headlines but are nevertheless vital to our national security. Let me mention a few.

In Latin America, narco syndicates have stained the streets -- of Juarez, Tijuana and elsewhere in Mexico -- with the blood of criminals and innocents alike, as drug lords struggle to survive against a Mexican government-led crackdown and inter-gang warfare. The impact of this violence on our borders concerns me very much, in both the near term as well as the long term, regarding the state of Mexico.

I'd like to hear from General Mattis and General Renuart about the nature of the threat that we have been experiencing on our Mexican borders and in Mexico.

(Inaudible.) Over much of the last decade, a growing number of countries seem to have removed their welcome mats, leaving our country with fewer allies with whom we can continue to build strong military to military partnerships. The implication of this trend, for our ability to conduct counternarcotics and other operations, bears careful monitoring.

Admiral, I welcome your thoughts on this trend.

General Ward, congratulations on your efforts so far. In short order, you've brought Africa Command from being little more than a concept to becoming a fully operational combatant command, with robust interagency participation. We thank you for that.

As AFRICOM continues to plan and execute its mission, it seems to me that improving the COCOM's strategic communications is your primary challenge.

Your task is to explain how working with our African partners to promote stability and security in the continent is consistent with our core national security interests. It's tough to draw the linkage from the work you do today to preventing -- (inaudible) -- the regional wars and the man-made disasters that hopefully will never happen in the future, but it's precisely what you do.

Beyond your strategic communication challenges, the work of AFRICOM has raised other concerns. A lot of the requirements inherent in promoting stability and security within the African economy do not, at first glance, appear to be military tasks. Your command must be careful that by virtue of size it does not squeeze out efforts of our civilian agencies, such as the State Department and the USAID.

Then let me turn to my good friend, my colleague John McHugh from New York and again thank each of you for your excellent contributions to our country. We look forward to your testimony.

Mr. McHugh.

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN MCHUGH (R-NY): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Obviously, all of us welcome you gentlemen, bearing deep appreciation for the great leadership that you've shown. And please convey back to those brave men and women in uniform that you command ours and the nation's most profound respect and words of thanks.

Mr. Chairman, as always, you've kind of encapsulated this very important hearing. It's certainly, in my judgment, one of the more critical ones we hold on an annual basis. We're always very happy that our great leaders can be here in person, join us, to come with a broad range of items, some of which you've outlined, Mr. Chairman. I've asked that my entire statement be entered into the record in its entirety.

REP. SKELTON: Without objection.

REP. MCHUGH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And beyond that, let me just underscore a couple of things that you said.

We have very distinct areas of responsibility here. Each have their own significant challenges.

Like you, one of the most pressing, in my judgment, is the very disturbing situation on the U.S.-Mexico border. I share your concern, as I do many others' in this nation, Mr. Chairman, regarding that widening drug war, the possible reach of cartels into America's border town (sic). And it's gotten to the extent where even just last week the president has stated that he's at least considering deploying National Guard troops along that southern border. And like you, Mr. Chairman, I'm very interested, and I hope we get the opportunity today to discuss a bit about that circumstance and the way forward.

NORTHCOM plays an important role in directing missile defense operations to protect the homeland. And given the nuclear and ballistic-missile ambitions and -- particularly, in recent days, of Iran and North Korea, we have the opportunity today to talk about NORTHCOM's capabilities and force structure to defend the United States from ballistic-missile attack.

And Admiral, as you know and we've had the chance to discuss, you've got some very unique security challenges in your region. And just to stite -- cite one, over the last few years, Colombia has really risen as a democratic leader, with successes against insurgent and paramilitary groups.

That is due in no small measure to the people under your command and the support of this nation in those efforts.

But for all of that, the drug production and trafficking are still a very significant challenge for that nation, and I think it's important for us to hear what we need to do to best support what I would argue is one of our most stalwart allies in South America and, in fact, in this hemisphere.

And General Ward, I think -- I think the chairman summed it up very well. You've done yeoman's work in setting up a command in one of the most complex and, I would argue, most misunderstood regions on the face of the Earth, and I think you've done an outstanding job. And it's not been without challenges, and no one knows more clearly than you. But whether it's questions of interagency presence and buy- ins as well as the understandable delays in establishing certain offices, we need to hear today from you what kinds of areas still exist where you require the support of this Congress, and this committee particularly.

And finally, General Mattis, as Joint Forces Command, amongst the many roles you play, that of providing mission-ready forces to all geographic commands is key amongst them. And obviously, as we draw down troops out of Iraq and begin to build up into Afghanistan, the demand and increase of support functions and those kinds of mission personnel is going to be even more critical, and the challenge that you face in meeting that as the supplier of forces is so vital, obviously, to those missions, but to us, as well. And I hope you will be able to give us an idea how you're going to meet that growing requirement for support functions in Afghanistan and still meet the enduring requirement as it may exist in Iraq.

So, a lot on our plate here, Mr. Chairman, as you and I both agree. Certainly we want to get to the testimony and for the question-and-answer period.

And a final word of appreciation to our witnesses, and particularly a word of deep thanks to those men and women that they have the honor of leading.

I would yield back.

REP. SKELTON: Thank you, Mr. McHugh. We will ask our witnesses -- and before that, I must say that at high noon I have a conflict, and someone else will be helping you finish the hearing; please understand. If you wish to condense your statement, without objection, each of your written statements will be placed into the record.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]

REP. SKELTON: General William E. Ward, known as Kip Ward. General?

GEN. WARD: Thank you, Chairman Skelton, Mr. McHugh, distinguished members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to provide this overview.

With me today are Ms. Mary Pleffner from our Department of Commerce and Mr. Jerry Lanier from the Department of State.

And I'm also honored to appear alongside by distinguished colleagues here.

Last year we discussed a plan to establish our headquarters. Today United States Africa Command is executing our mission of conducting sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs and military-sponsored activities to promote a stable and secure African environment. We work in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners to assure that our activities are harmonized.

Our strategy is based on military-to-military efforts to enhance the security capability of our African partners. In many engagements with African leaders during my time as commander, United States Africa Command, and previously as deputy commander, U.S. European Command, the consistent message they gave me is their intent for American -- for African nations to provide for their own security. Most welcome our assistance in reaching their goals for security forces that are legitimate and professional, have the will and means to dissuade, deter and defeat transnational threats, perform with integrity, and increasingly able to support international peace efforts.

We work as a part of the overall United States government effort. We work closely with the Department of State, the chiefs of mission and country teams, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, Agriculture and others doing work on the continent. And like Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, I fully support enhancements to the capabilities of our interagency partners.

Similarly, we reach out to international partners, including Europeans, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, private enterprise and academia. Their perspectives on the situation in Africa are very valuable. U.S. Africa Command is involved in military training, education, sustainment and logistic support, among other activities throughout our area of responsibility.

The Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, headquartered in Djibouti, conducts training, education and civil-military assistance that helps prevent conflict and promote regional cooperation among nations of Eastern Africa. Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara is a military component of the Department of State's counterterrorism partnership with North and West African nations. Africa Endeavor is an annual communications interoperability exercise that this year will include 23 African nations. We support the State Department's Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance Program, that roughly trains 20 battalions of peacekeepers per year. The peacekeepers have been deployed on United Nations and African Union missions across the continent. Recently, we helped the Rwandans deploy some of their heavy equipment to the U.N. mission in Darfur. Continuing deployment of the African Partnership Station provides training to the navies and coast guards of maritime nations in the Gulf of Guinea and in Eastern Africa, helping them better secure their own territorial waters.

Given the lack of infrastructure within Africa and the island nations, our sustainment infrastructure, forward operating sites and en-route infrastructure are vital. I endorse upgrade projects supporting these key infrastructure nodes. The enduring presence at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti makes possible our engagement in East Africa and other parts of the continent and supports our U.S. strategic goals in that area of the world.

It is, indeed, my honor to serve with the uniformed and civilian men and women of the Department of Defense, as well as our intra-agency teammates, who are making a difference on the continent every day. Their dedicated efforts are testament to the spirit and determination of the American people and our commitment to contributing to the well- being and security of our nation and the people of Africa.

Again, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for your support. And I'm -- stand ready to participate in the hearing.

REP. SKELTON: Thank you very much, General Ward.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]

REP. SKELTON: General Ward, in your opinion, would you describe for us America's national security interest in what you do in the African Command on the African continent, please?

GEN. WARD: Thank you, Chairman. The continent of Africa is an immense geographical domain as well as a huge water space along its borders and its territorial waters. Resources, population, globalization, stability all very firmly point to that part of the world being integrally linked to the security, as well as the continued development, of our country. A stable continent of Africa, with a population approaching 9 million (approaching 1 billion), growing at a rate of 2.4 percent a year, expected to double by 2050, if left unchecked, with the issues of illegal immigration; trafficking of various commodities, from weapons to drugs to people; undeveloped, so that immigration becomes issues for not just the nations of Africa but Europe as well as America; having today -- (audio break from the source).

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]

REP. VIC SNYDER (D-AR): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, gentlemen, for being here today.

General Ward, I'm going to address my time with you, and first I want to just make a comment. I had to step out while you did your oral statement, but in your written statement you referred to the -- having a brief discussion about the overfishing off the coast of Africa. And it -- and, you know, I applaud you for including that in a national-security discussion about what's going on, because poverty and hunger and lack of economic vitality are huge national-security threats. And I think probably most of us don't realize what the potential degradation of the fish off the coast of Africa means for a lot of nations and a lot of people and for stability in Africa. On page four of your written statement, you say the following: Quote, "the greatest security threats facing Africa include enduring conflicts, illicit trafficking, territorial disputes, rebel insurgencies, violent extremists, piracy and illegal immigration." The first one on that list was enduring conflicts, and would you describe for me, please, what you see the role of AFRICOM as in these enduring conflicts?

And I want to mention two, specifically, as examples. We have this ongoing dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia, on that border. That -- while there has not been active military engagement for some time now of any major amount, none of us would be surprised if it were to flare up again at some point. It is an unresolved border and an unresolved war. The second one is the several -- well, couple- decades-long, now, dispute between the Polisario -- they're based on the Moroccan-Algerian border -- and the kingdom of Morocco.

When you look at those two threats, what you've referred to as enduring conflicts, what do you see as the role of AFRICOM in disputes like those?

GEN. WARD: Thank you, sir. First, the acknowledgement of the threats to the environment, I appreciate your noting that. To be sure, these threats to those resources that could be made available to a people of a nation to increase their lot, to increase their well- being: critical; very, very important. And when it doesn't occur where they are, then they will seek it elsewhere.

With respect to the enduring conflicts, they range, as you've noted. They are the borders, Eritrea, Djibouti, the borders in North Africa with respect to the Western Sahara; also, the central part of the continent. They are in the Congo.

As it comes to the role that we play, the command, the military role, you know, where there are political agreements that talk to, one, creating stability, that talk to, two, the need to create a force, a security force, that would in fact help the legitimate government of a nation provide that control or that stability, where there is a lack of training, a lack of equipment, a lack of interoperability, a lack of working effectively to some degree with its neighbors where, again, there is the political will to do so, and the determination is made that we in fact can play a role in increasing the capacity to address those deficiencies, that's where we as a command, a military command, come in to take a role, to increase the capacity of those nations to do such.

For example, as the situation in the Congo was -- (audio break) -- and interoperability deficiencies were noted, our ability to work with those nations -- Uganda, Rwanda, The Democratic Republic of The Congo, Central African Republic to a degree -- to help information sharing, to help with equipment interoperability, providing sometimes needed logistics support and enhancements, to cause those governments to be able to have a better sense of what goes on inside their borders against insurgencies or the rebel factions, and then be able to work in some degree of commonality to address them.

But again, those actions that we take, sir, come on the heels of a policy decision having been taken by the nations themselves; obviously, our national policy direction that supports the activities that we would in fact do to help in those instances.

REP. SNYDER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]

REP. DAVIS: Thank you. When you are working with our country teams, what role does the military necessarily play? How would you assess the public opinion towards the United States in your areas? I mean, how do you merge some of that understanding, and what effect does it have on your operations?

GEN. WARD: I think, Ms. Davis, two things. First, I certainly echo all that's been said by Admiral Stavridis and General Renuart. We work very closely with the country teams, but not just in implementing the plans; also, in developing the plans. From the outset, the country teams are involved to include the public diplomacy aspects of those, because we rely on the public diplomacy section with -- inside the embassies to help us assure that the effects that we want to create are understood by the populations whom we are trying to serve.

And so that -- that relationship is absolutely critical. It is cradle-to-grave, from the beginning of a plan to its execution, fully including, and in fact taking the lead from, the embassies' action plans insofar as how what we do supports that overall process there within the country.


-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. KLINE: General Ward, I want to pick up on two things, if the time allows.

One, you talked about the value of United Nations forces and African Union forces. And I know you can reflect back to a number of years ago, when we were much younger and in fact in Africa, and looking at U.N. forces hunkered down in Mogadishu, for example, and not venturing off the airport.

And so I trust that either African Union or United Nations forces, and I know that you're involved in the training of forces, I gather from your earlier answer. You're saying that that's not the case now or at least that those forces are more useful and more effective than in those long years past. Is that correct?

GEN. WARD: Thank you for that, sir. Two things.

First, it's a function of how well trained and equipped they are and that clearly even today, there are variances in that training and that equipment and then thirdly -- correction, secondly -- what authorities they then have, to do a mission or not.

So I think it's a combination of those two factors, their training and equipping, and then what authorities that they have. When those are aligned, then their role can, in fact, make a difference. And there are instances where that in fact is the case. It's not absolute. And so therefore, I think to the degree that we can be of an assist in helping to provide trained and equipped forces from whatever contributing nation that would provide forces to those formations -- either United Nations-sponsored formations or African Union-sponsored formations -- then we have a role, I think, in helping those forces be better trained and equipped to the degree, and then clearly authority commensurate with whatever mission they're assigned as they are employed.

REP. KLINE: All right. Thank you.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. KISSELL: And General Ward, along the same lines in Africa, the military-to-military contact we have, what are some of the nations of Africa that seem to be the strongest in working -- willing to work with us?

GEN. WARD: Sir, I think if we look at those nations that contribute forces to the peacekeeping missions, from Uganda to Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, there are several that, in fact, have a capability. They need assistance logistically predominantly to either deploy to one of these far-off places, to sustain themselves in one of those far-off places, but -- (audio break) -- many of the African nations to, in fact, do what many of them say they want to do; that is, provide for their own security.

And so the level of -- Burundi is another example. Small, out just from a very severe internal conflict, but realizing it can play a role in the future and attempting to do so. So the range is quite broad, as Admiral Stavridis mentioned. But again, most -- many lack capacity, typically in the logistics area.

Manpower typically is not an issue. We work with them to help increase the health situation within those nations; as an example, our program for HIV/AIDS, to complement the PEPFAR to our Defense HIV/AIDS prevention program to help them get enough people that can in fact then be trained and then to deploy into a peacekeeping (set ?). So those nations are, in fact -- numbers are there.

REP. KISSELL: What would you say in terms of our outreach to the countries of Africa? What portion of Africa are we reaching? Half? Three-quarters? How far out does that outreach go?

GEN. WARD: I think if I were to -- and I will get a more precise number to you, but we are reaching nations throughout the continent -- North, East, Southwest and Central Africa. We have probably 35 nations now -- just hazard that guess -- of the 53 on the continent that we have active programs with, to some degree, as we work with them and the various either counterterror programs, programs to help in their transformation of their militaries and also in just basic logistic support as they participate in U.N.- or AU-sponsored peacekeeping operations.
-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. PATRICK MURPHY (D-PA): (Off mike) -- Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.

Gentlemen, I joined the Army in 1993 and never had the opportunity to meet a four-star general. So to have four of you here at the same time is pretty awesome, and to spend the last hour and a half with you has been educational.

I want to thank you for your service to our nation. We really do appreciate it.

I wanted to kind of focus my remarks on AFRICOM. Sir, General Ward, my brother is a major in the Air Force. He just came back from a deployment to Djibouti. And you know, appreciate what you're doing in the early stages of what's going on with AFRICOM, and the balance on your mission between obviously short-term counterterrorism operations and then long-term political and economic development.

I wanted to focus and get my arms around the fact that when you look at Africa as a continent and your mission, you know, the United States, China, Western Europe and India combined geographically is smaller than your mission in Africa. And you look at the FY '09 budget for your operations -- $350 million, which is approximately what we spend in Iraq per day.

Is there one function -- you know, when you say, given your balance and the multiple demands on your command, is there one function within your budget that you need more help, that you need more funding and that you think that we should be focusing on as a Congress and as an Armed Services Committee? GEN. WARD: Well, Mr. Murphy, thanks very much, and thank you too for your service. I wish I had an opportunity to have met you during those early times in the '90s there. So I appreciate what you've done and appreciate where you are now as well, sir.

I think the -- you know, my command, except for the work that we do -- and we do accomplish counterterror work, to be sure; we do that as a part of a global counterterror effort -- my command's predominant role is in doing our activities to help our partner nations increase their capacity.

It doesn't take a lot to do that. What it takes is something we call persistent and sustained engagement. From the standpoint of our training, our best method of doing that is when our nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines can pair up with these nations who are attempting to transform and do things differently -- given the commitment of those resources in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, very difficult. What we do now is work very, very closely with other potential sources of that type of support -- our National Guard, as well as, as was pointed out, submitting our requirements through the Joint Staff for forces that may be in some period of outside of dwell but not actively employed in the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, to cause that relationship to go on.

Huge continent, so getting things around is a big, big requirement that we have. So our mobility requirements are clearly there as another requirement that we have.

Resources to assist these nations in increasing their littoral -- their maritime safety and security, so to the degree that we can, the sorts of vessels we've talked about here, and again the range is a range that's quite, quite, quite wide from frigates to large deck amphibians. The aircraft carrier; we just had an aircraft carrier visit to South Africa -- first time since apartheid -- this past fall.

So we take all of these as we can to help, one, build the relationships, two, provide some sustained-level security engagement that, two -- that, three -- leads to a capacity increase in our partner nations that is reflective of integrity, that's reflective of legitimacy, that's reflective of military performing, as we would like them to perform, as they wish to perform, in societies where they respect their people, are protective of their people and are -- contribute themselves or act as responsible members of that society.

REP. HEINRICH: Sure.

How is the population of South Africa? How are they toward the aircraft carrier being there? Were they -- I mean, I think back when the USS John Kennedy was in Ireland. And obviously they loved when that ship was there. But how about as far as for the local populace in South Africa?

GEN. WARD: The reaction was very, very positive.

REP. HEINRICH: Terrific.

Let me focus real quick, sir, on -- I also serve on the Intelligence Committee. You look at -- they're real concerned, with Africa, with terrorist organizations especially in Somalia, the Sudan. And I'm trying to get a stranglehold.

What about a potential widespread outbreak of a disease, really a continent-wide outbreak? And obviously what would that do to the, you know, the spilling over to government and everything else?

Is there a focus? Is there a preparation that you need -- that we need to assist there, to counter that possibility?

GEN. WARD: There are, sir. We pay attention to that. The threat of a pandemic, a disease, is very real. And we do pay attention to it. And devoting resources to that is, I think, a very wise investment.

REP. HEINRICH: Thanks, sir.

My time is done. And thanks, Chairman.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. CAROL SHEA-PORTER (D-NH): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And thank you so much for being here, and your service to the country. General Ward, I wanted to ask you about the humanitarian assistance programs on the continent of Africa. I want to know specifically how we're doing in comparison to other countries, such as China. Are they more visible? Do we have a greater visibility? Is it enough? And what are your plans to make sure that the continent of Africa understands what our goals are there and our concerns for them?

GEN. WARD: Thank you, Madame Shea-Porter. Two things: First, the work that we do is work that complements the greater effort being done by our U.S. Agency for International Development. Insofar as our humanitarian assistance effort is concerned, we, working in concert with the chief of mission, the ambassadors, determine those areas that, one, are not being met by any other asset of our government and then, two, support the military capacity of our servicemen and women who have skill sets in those -- in those areas as well.

I think from the standpoint of what others are doing, i.e. nations -- China, India and others -- clearly they are expending great net amount of resources in various humanitarian projects, programs, infrastructure construction, things that we are not matching, things that we are not doing.

REP. SHEA-PORTER: Does that concern you?

GEN. WARD: It concerns me from the standpoint of what the effect of what's being done by others has in the environment and the influence that they have based on that and how that is influencing how those nations who receive that support react and respond to it.

REP. SHEA-PORTER: Well, thank you, General. I'm going to interrupt because of the time, you know. But I think that's exactly the problem that we have so often, that we come late to the game. And so if I'm hearing you correctly, you are concerned, as I think most of us would be, that we might be losing a little bit of the edge that we could have right now where -- if we were more active and the Africans understood that we were a generous, good people concerned about their welfare.

So which country, can I ask you, concerns you in Africa? What other foreign country do you feel is making greater gains than we are in terms of winning hearts and minds?

GEN. WARD: I would have to take a close look at that and get back to you. I think in a general sense the reaction occurs throughout the continent of Africa. In today's economic situation, it's even exacerbated a bit because of the reaction or the reflection that what might have been already provided may be reduced, may not be as prevalent. So I think that is a concern that is there. I think African nations are meeting in Europe in a prelude to the G-20, expressing the same sort of concern about their continued development based on the economic situation. But I'm not sure I could name a single particular country that would concern me more than any other at this point in time.

REP. SHEA-PORTER: So looking at the economic instability and the long history of problems that they're enduring, this might be an opportune time for us to raise our visibility through these kinds of efforts?

GEN. WARD: I think anything that we do makes a difference. And I think it should be not episodic. If we can make it consistent, that's even better, ma'am.

REP. SHEA-PORTER: Okay. And one last question. Thank you.

Operation Objective Voice, getting our message, our ideology across, our goals for democracy. How strong a message are we delivering there right now? Are you able to actually have an impact, or is it still a challenge to communicate like that?

GEN. WARD: I think the assessment that we get and how we see those pieces of information that are transmitted through Operation Objective Voice, when those things appear in other media on the continent, it lets us know that people are paying attention, the Africans are paying attention, and then as we get reactions from our embassies -- because we do that in very close coordination with the embassies and the country teams, their public diplomacy sections -- that we get the assessment that it is making a difference, they are listening, and it does cause them to see what goes on from a perspective that reflects that that we would intend for it to be.

So I think it is making a difference. And our partners, the ambassadors, the country teams, as well as the nations, think it is a very good program that we we are involved in.

REP. SHEA-PORTER: Thank you. And I yield back.

REP. SKELTON: Thank you very much.

We will go vote. We have two votes. And Ms. Davis will assume the chair. And as I read the list, Mr. Larsen, you will be the first batter up.

And again, thank you, gentlemen, for your appearance.

(Recess.)

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. COFFMAN: General Ward, in AFRICOM, what is your role or the role of AFRICOM -- is there a role -- in Darfur, indirect or direct? Potentially direct. Obviously, no direct role right now. But maybe you could speak to that.

GEN. WARD: Well, thank you, sir. Clearly, our role in Darfur today is that of an indirect nature as we support those African Union and United Nations forces that are there, that have been designated to go there, enabling them, training, equipping to a degree, as well as providing logistic support. I mentioned, you know, in January- February time frame we provided lift assistance to the government of Rwanda to move outsize cargo. (essentially ?) trucks that they would use in the mission there in Darfur.

And so we are involved with those nations. We're involved with the African Union as they endeavor to put their plans in place for addressing the situation in Darfur. Clearly, whatever we would do would be a result of a policy decision having been taken with respect to the role that we play. And as you pointed out, to this point that is purely a role from the military point of view of providing assistance to those peacekeeping forces that have been earmarked for peacekeeping activities in Darfur. REP. COFFMAN: Would a correct assessment be that things have deteriorated recently in Darfur?

GEN. WARD: I think from the standpoint of the indictment and the reduction in the nongovernmental organizations that are allowed to operate in Darfur, it would certainly indicate a degradation of what goes on there. I've not been there, obviously so I can't speak to it directly, but clearly the indications are that's the case. I think at this point in time the pipeline distribution issues are there with respect to supplies of foodstuffs, of water, et cetera. So I think it would be fair to say that there has been a degradation of humanitarian relief efforts there in Darfur.

-------------------------------

[. . . Discussion not related to Africa Command omitted. . .]


REP. FRANKS: I know that they don't put four stars on the shoulders of these individuals casually, so I thank all of you for your -- really committing your whole life to the cause of human freedom. And I wish we could really see more of what you do sometimes. I think it'd mean a lot to the country. Thank you.

REP. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Franks. And as we wind up -- and I want to thank you very much as well -- can I just go back to -- a second to our comments earlier about irregular warfare?

And I'm wondering if you have any message to the personnel committee in what we should be focusing on in terms of the recruiting, retention and training of our military that will continue to support the goal of having superiority in irregular warfare as well as superiority in conventional and nuclear technology. Can you respond -- quickly, anything?

GEN. MATTIS: Yes, ma'am. Just very quickly, none of us can predict the future, and we all have certain modest expectations about whether or not we'll really know where the next threat comes from.

But we know this. If we keep a very high-quality force, officer and enlisted; if we keep recruiting the kind of folks who can think on their feet, the kind of folks who can integrate high technology but not lose sight of the fact that human factors in war remain the dominant reason for success or failure, then we will make the adaptations, for example, in language training, cultural training and these sorts of things.

But it really comes down to one fundamental premise, and that is that we get the best and the brightest for these jobs.

We are decentralizing decision-making, and as we look at the cyberthreats and the EMP note that was made earlier, we are going to have to continue to decentralize decision-making. That means we need at the very youngest ages young folks who can use initiative and exercise good judgment, both tactically and ethically, because of the nature of these fights. It's all about quality, ma'am.

REP. DAVIS: (General, again ?) --

GEN. RENUART: Ma'am, if I could add a point, one of the keys to, if you will, preventing irregular war is the ability to build partnership capacity among our friends around the world. And while certainly Jim is right -- today's young men and women are eager to serve, and they understand the technical nature of the business -- I think it's important for us to continue that capability to build partnership capacity among our friends so that countries can manage those irregular threats that may develop without it requiring a large U.S presence.

ADM. STAVRIDIS: And --

GEN. WARD: And --

ADM. STAVRIDIS: Oh, I'm sorry, Kip. Go ahead.

GEN. WARD: And just not to let that one -- not go without another strike, in that whole regard of building the capacity of our partners, clearly our cultural understanding is critically important. The language programs within my command, my director of intelligence and knowledge development, whereby we try to have our best understanding of our partners -- their culture, environment, history, traditions, et cetera, et cetera -- those things help with those relationships, helps with the partnerships that we build, increases the trust and confidence between us, and therefore helping to get to the point that was made -- create the type of environment that would in fact prevent the irregular requirements from even existing.

REP. DAVIS: Thank you.

Admiral?

ADM. STAVRIDIS: I'll just close, if I could, by underlining language and culture very specifically. And I believe there are enormous second-order effects to having 2 million people in the Department of Defense studying and learning language and culture. It's a ripple effect, both in the world and our own country.

REP. DAVIS: Thank you very much. We'll look forward to working with you as we all face those difficult decisions and choices, and we hope to put more of our resources in that direction.

Thank you very much for being here. Again, we applaud your service and thank you for your time and attention today. Thank you.

The meeting is adjourned.

END OF TRANSCRIPT