12:30 PM9/23/2021

President of Benin Patrice Talon welcomes Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Ambassador to Benin Patricia Mahoney during a multi-day visit to West Africa, with stops in Togo and Benin, September 22-23. “Our coastal West African partners share many security threats. Effectively countering those threats requires a cooperative regional approach. Like all of our security partners in West Africa, Benin has an important role. We continue to work with Benin and other partners to build capacity and improve interoperability,” said Townsend.

12:15 PM9/23/2021

Together with U.S. Africa Command’s Senior Development Advisor, Barbara Hughes, and Ambassador Andrew Young, deputy to the commander for civil-military engagement (center), U.S. Africa Command leaders met with USAID’s Benin country representative, Carl Anderson (not pictured), during a multi-day visit to West Africa, with stops in Togo and Benin, September 22-23. Discussions centered on ways to cooperate in community strengthening and civil society approaches to thwarting the spread of violent extremist ideologies.

12:14 PM9/23/2021

Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, and Sgt. Maj. Richard Thresher, senior enlisted leader, meet senior Beninese leaders during a multi-day visit to West Africa, with stops in Togo and Benin, September 22-23. “Our coastal West African partners share many security threats. Effectively countering those threats requires a cooperative regional approach," said Townsend.

11:58 AM9/23/2021

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, continued a multi-day visit to West Africa, with stops in Togo and Benin, September 22-23.

6:09 PM9/22/2021

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, began a multi-day visit to West Africa, which included stops in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire September 20-21.

3:08 PM7/30/2021

U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, conducted a two-day visit to Tanzania, July 27-28, where he met with senior defense officials and opened the first joint special forces training exercise between the two nations since 2017.

3:08 PM7/30/2021

U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, conducted a two-day visit to Tanzania, July 27-28, where he met with senior defense officials and opened the first joint special forces training exercise between the two nations since 2017.

7:32 PM7/21/2021

3:39 PM7/13/2021

“Thank you, thank you for making a difference, thank you for helping people to have a better life, thank you for helping them resist oppression. What we do matters, our small efforts have huge impact,” said Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, outgoing commander, SOCAF.

10:18 AM7/9/2021

Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, and Sgt. Maj. Richard Thresher, senior enlisted leader, present the AFRICOM interagency partner of the quarter award during the AFRICOM all-hands presentation May 27, 2021. Kanishka was later recognized as the 2021 Robert D. Murphy Foreign Policy Advisor of the Year Award by the U.S. Department of State for his efforts to enable full integration of foreign policy considerations into all AFRICOM’s public messaging

12:45 PM6/15/2021

U.S. Sixth Fleet ships, Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71), and expeditionary fast transport USNS Trenton (T-EPF-5) are participating in U.S. Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) largest and premier annual exercise African Lion, June 13, 2021.

8:26 PM5/31/2021

U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVAF) Director of maritime partnership program, Rear Adm. Jeffrey S. Spivey joined Tunisian Minister of Defense Brahim Bertegi, Read Adm. Kevin Jones from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, Donald Blome in marking the successful completion of the 16th iteration of the multinational maritime exercise Phoenix Express 2021 (PE21) in Tunis, Tunisia on May 28, 2021.

4:36 PM5/25/2021

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, Commander, U.S. Africa Command, travelled to Djibouti May 14-18, 2021. During the visit, he presided over the Change of Command ceremony for Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, where U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lapthe Flora relinquished command to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Zana. Townsend also joined U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti Jonathan G. Pratt for a meeting with Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf ; and met with Djiboutian Minister of Defense M. Hassan Omar Mohamed, and Chief of Defense Maj. Gen. Zakaria Chekh Imbrahim. During the visit, the leaders discussed security in Djibouti and the region and their dedication to working together on the mutual goals of regional stability, security, and prosperity. The partnership between Djibouti and the United States remains strong as we work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Africa Command has contributed $6.2 million to Djiboutian COVID-19 relief efforts since the start of the pandemic.

3:21 PM5/18/2021

While in East Africa Townsend conducted several key leader engagements with U.S., international and African partners.

3:10 PM5/18/2021

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lapthe C. Flora, outgoing commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), receives the Defense Superior Service Medal from U.S. Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), during his change of command ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, May 15, 2021. The Defense Superior Service Medal is award to those who have rendered superior meritorious service while serving in a position of high responsibility and in a joint service environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Grady Epperly)

3:09 PM5/18/2021

U.S. Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), hands the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) task force flag to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William L. Zana, in-coming commander, during a change of command ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, May 15, 2021. Prior to serving as the Joint Staff J5, Deputy Director of Africa, Zana was the Deputy Commanding General of CJTF-HOA. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Grady Epperly)

12:13 PM5/3/2021

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, director of intelligence, U.S. Africa Command, concluded a multiday visit to Senegal and Mali.