Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, commander of the newly formed U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), has announced plans to visit the headquarters of two of Africa's five regional economic communities Dec. 3-6.

During the visit, Ward is scheduled to meet with officials from the South African Development Community (SADC) in Gaborone, Botswana, and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in Libreville, Gabon, to discuss ongoing U.S. military security assistance programs.

In addition, Ward plans to meet with the regional host governments of Botswana and Gabon, as well as Angolan officials in Luanda, to discuss U.S. bilateral assistance efforts.

AFRICOM is a regional headquarters staff currently forming in Stuttgart, Germany. The command is designed to work closely with African nations and regional organizations like SADC and ECCAS to coordinate U.S. security assistance programs and activities on the African continent. In the past, three different U.S. regional headquarters managed U.S. security assistance programs in Africa.

This marks Ward's second trip to Africa as AFRICOM commander. In early November, Ward met with officials from the African Union to further develop relationships and continue dialogue pertaining to AFRICOM support of African-led security and stability efforts.