ADF

ADF STAFF Nations that have invested in professional military education have little doubt about its worth.  “The payoff we see on the back end is phenomenal,” Maj. Gen. Tracy King said about the U.S. Marine Corps’ effort to expand education to noncommissioned officers. “It’s paying off in spades.”  Proponents say professional military education, or PME, helps a fighting force embody the highest values of a nation. It promotes cohesion, teaches a broad strategic vision and gives students an understanding of what it means to serve. If basic training and technical courses teach a Soldier “what to think,” PME teaches the…

During more than 40 years in the military, Gen. Robert Kibochi, Ph.D., has held command positions such as vice chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), commander of the Kenya Army, and assistant chief in charge of operations, plans, doctrine and training at Defence headquarters. He commanded the Kenyan contingent of the U.N. Mission in Sierra Leone from 2000 to 2001 and was awarded the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear for his leadership. In 2020, he was appointed chief of defense forces (CDF), and in 2022 he became…

ADF STAFF Threats in the coastal waterways of Africa have multiplied in recent years. Smuggling, piracy and oil bunkering all occur in the shallow waters that snake from the ocean to the interior of the continent. These threats cannot be stopped by large, blue sea naval vessels. In response, navies are evolving. They are investing time and money in agile and adaptable infantry units. These highly trained units go by different names: In Senegal, they are marine commandos; in Nigeria they are the Special Boat Service; and in Angola they are Fuzileiros. They are designed to be nimble, capable of…

ADF STAFF An Army captain from Chad who died while protecting civilians in Mali has become only the second recipient of the United Nations’ highest peacekeeping award. Capt. Abdelrazakh Hamit Bahar joined the U.N. Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali in January 2021. He was deployed at the Aguelhok Super Camp in the northeast when an armed terrorist group attacked and tried to seize the base and its outposts, according to the U.N. He led a counterattack. While protecting the perimeter, he noticed that some of the attackers were entering a nearby house. He went to clear and secure the house,…

ADF STAFF From farm fields to oil fields, Sudan’s military is deeply rooted in industries at the heart of the country’s economy. The military-controlled Defense Industries Systems (DIS) runs more than 250 companies worth a collective $2 billion that produce a wide variety of equipment for military and civilian use. Along with producing military equipment, DIS companies are involved in gold, marble, leather, gum arabic and household appliances.  DIS also is invested in telecommunications, banking, water distribution, real estate development, aviation, transportation, pharmaceuticals and textiles. In addition, DIS controls 60% of Sudan’s wheat imports. “They are everywhere one looks,” Jean-Baptiste…

A Soldier from the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) swipes away desert sand in search of a simulated improvised explosive device (IED). He and his colleagues took part in counter-IED training with U.S. Air Force explosive ordnance disposal technicians at the FAN’s Genie Compound in Agadez, Niger, on May 19, 2022. FAN and U.S. forces conduct these joint training sessions twice a week to improve their ability to detect and disarm the deadly devices.

ADF STAFF China’s interest and involvement in Africa includes everything from establishing economic markets to negotiating lucrative infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars. The communist nation also is known for what it takes from the continent. China’s distant-water fishing fleet plunders African waters. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) seeks to expand its naval presence — already established in East Africa — to West Africa’s coast, a move that could protect its fishing interests there. A lesser-known Chinese endeavor, however, seeks to shape the very framework of how African militaries operate and relate to civilian government. A nation known for its…

ADF STAFF The primary job of Mauritania’s 300 camel-riding Mehari National Guard members is to patrol remote areas of the Sahara along the border with Mali, looking for terrorist cells. But they do much more than provide security to villages and nomadic outposts. The camel riders, dressed in traditional attire, provide vital information, public transport and help with access to clean water. They can offer sophisticated health care, such as diagnosing conditions and giving the proper medicine. Many describe the work as a higher calling.  “The most beautiful day for me is when I am assigned a mission, whatever it…

ADF STAFF For a nation’s military to be ethical and effective, it must adhere to certain objective standards. Chief among those is its willingness to be subjected to civilian rule. That has not always been the case with African nations since the era of independence began, and some countries still struggle to meet that basic, but vital, standard. Émile Ouédraogo, a retired colonel in Burkina Faso’s Army and an adjunct professor of practice at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, lists four major obstacles in his paper, “Advancing Military Professionalism in Africa.” The obstacles are colonial legacies, ethnic and tribal…

ADF STAFF There’s a new armed group striking terror in the people of Mali. The fighters speak a strange language. They don’t look like the locals. They converge on villages accompanied by Malian soldiers. Their ostensible mission is to help the military clear out a stubborn array of terrorist groups. Their track record across Africa, however, is one of criminal violence, incompetence and economic exploitation. Now they have gained a reputation for killing Malian civilians with impunity. They are members of the Wagner Group, a notorious Russian mercenary enterprise that has had boots on the ground in the Central African…