A prayer for Marie: creating an effective African standby force

Parameters, Winter, 2004 by Mike Denning

To extend this option beyond Kenya, the international community needs to expand its military-to-military engagement plan with Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently US European Command, responsible for military engagement with most Sub-Sahara African countries, participates in four annual training exercises in the region. Conversely, the command participates in over 100 exercises on the European continent. (37) As a component of the Tier One Brigade program, additional combined training exercises involving the militaries of the United States, the G8 countries, and Sub-Saharan Africa are required.

A second possibility for recurring training is for the international community to deploy a team of trainers to the countries sourcing the individual Tier One battalions. During the OFR initiative, the United States used Special Forces as trainers for the battalions. While Army Special Forces were precisely the right units to provide initial OFR training, sustainment training can draw support from alternate resources. For example, the Army National Guard currently participates in programs through which state Guard units develop partnerships with the military of a state from the former Soviet Union. A similar program could be applied to sustainment training for the Tier One battalions. Regardless of which option is chosen, sustainment training is necessary to ensure the continuous effectiveness of the Tier One Brigade.

Logistics

Any international initiative for an African Standby Force must include a standardized equipment package. European colonialista and the Cold War were driving forces in equipping the modern-day African militaries. If the AU were presently to integrate four battalions from separate African countries, the likely result would be a composite brigade with a hodgepodge of nonstandard, non-interchangeable, and potentially incompatible military equipment. A standardized equipment block is necessary to ensure battalions deploy with operable equipment and to reduce the costs and complexities of their logistical requirements. Moreover, this equipment block should be built around the core competencies of the Tier One Brigade--speed and teeth. As such, the Tier One Brigade should be equipped in the same manner as the Operation Focus Relief battalions--with light and medium trucks, personal and crew-served weapons, mortars, and radio sets.

In addition to the standardized equipment block, a common supply sustainment block should be included for the Tier One Brigade. In the US military, an expeditionary brigade deploys with 30 days of accompanying supplies. While a 30-day internal supply provides the optimum balance of sustainment to embarkation footprint, it runs the risk of not satisfying reality--on average, it has taken between three and six months from the time the UN Security Council decides to establish a peacekeeping force until the peacekeepers are deployed. (38) Nevertheless, because rapid deployment is an overarching principle for the Tier One Brigade, the African Union should accept the risk associated with a 30-day internal sustainment capability. To mitigate this risk, alternative methods to augment the Tier One Brigade's organic sustainability should be developed. Examples of alternative methods include international community support agreements, host-nation support agreements, and regional prepositioned equipment and supplies.