Being the second largest continent on Earth, Africa has its share of issues. In an effort to help keep control and manage United States interests in that area of the world, we have U.S. Army Africa (USARAF).
Many will say that the United Nations forces should manage this shaky area, but our nation cannot depend on forces with other intentions to protect our interests when other country’s interests may be in direct opposition.
U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) Facts
In today’s post, I am going to share 17 cool facts about U.S. Army Africa.
Scroll down and learn something you may not know.
1: SETAF
There will be a deeper explanation as you scroll into the next fact, but U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) is also known as SETAF (Southern European Task Force).
2: USARAF and SETAF History
In 1955, SETAF was established when the United States and Italy formed an agreement. The Southern European Task Force headquarters were in Verona, Italy. In many ways, SETAF was essentially the “National Guard” of that region. There were many things associated with SETAF:
In 1959, Italian military personnel were assigned to SETAF with Army personnel.
In 1963, SETAF was first on the scene of a major Italian landslide.
And, in 1965, SETAF’s headquarters was moved to Caserma Ederle, Italy.
In 1972, the SETAF command took control of Army artillery groups in Greece and Turkey.
In 1990, SETAF took on regional tactical operations in command and control for both Army and joint military units.
Plus, in 1991, a SETAF unit deployed to Iraq to provide humanitarian relief.
In 1994, several SETAF units deployed to Uganda to assist with the Rwanda refugee crisis.
1995 and 96 were busy years for SETAF. They deployed to Bosnia, Croatia, Liberia and Uganda.
In 1997, SETAF sent units to the Congo and also Zaire.
Being an Airborne command, in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, elements jumped to Bashur Airfield.
Also in 2003, elements of SETAF deployed again to Liberia for humanitarian reasons.
In 2007, SETAF units deployed to Afghanistan. They also had deployments to Romania and Bulgaria, along with Georgia.
In late 2008, SETAF changed drastically. Airborne tabs and Airborne berets were removed. SETAF would no longer be considered an Airborne command. This is when USARAF was established and SETAF became USARAF.
3: Service Component
USARAF is a service component command for United States Africa Command.
4: Headquarters
The headquarters for U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) is at Caserma Ederle, Italy just a few miles from Vicenza.
5: Mission
Taken directly from the USARAF website, their mission reads as follows:
“USARAF/SETAF employs Army forces as partners, builds sustainable capacity, and supports the joint force in order to disrupt transnational threats and promote regional stability in Africa.”
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6: USARAF and ACOTA
ACOTA stands for African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance. This is a State Department program that utilizes USARAF to train multiple battalions of peacekeepers from selected African military units.
7: USARAF and ADAPT
ADAPT stands for Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Training. This is essentially the logistical side of the ACOTA training. It is also a State Department program.
8: USARAF and TCT
TCT stands for Traveling Contact Team. This is a 5 day program where an Army team participates with other partner nation’s military in non-training events.
9: USARAF and FAM
FAM stands for familiarization. This is when a partner nation sends personnel to American military activities to become familiar with aspects of the U.S. Army.
10: ALFS
ALFS stands for African Land Forces Summit. African nations send their military Chiefs of Staff to meet with USARAF leaders to discuss Africa security concerns.
11: SPP
SPP stands for State Partnership Program. This is a National Guard program that helps build abilities of combat commanders by partnering with States and partner nations.
12: CULP
CULP means Culture and Language Program. This is a U.S. Army Cadet Command Program. It is meant for training of cadets by deploying to a partner nation.
13: USARAF Leadership
The leadership for USARAF consists of:
Commander – Major General Joseph Harrington
Deputy Commander – Brigadier General Jon Jensen
Deputy Commander – Brigadier General Kenneth Moore Jr.
Command Sergeant Major – CSM Christopher Gilpin
Chief of Staff – Colonel Louis Rago II
14: USARAF on Twitter
You can follow the tweets of the USARAF.
15: USARAF on Flickr
See the various pictures posted by members of the USARAF team.
16: USARAF on Facebook
Follow the USARAF on Facebook.
17: USARAF on Vimeo
If you want to see USARAF videos, just follow them on Vimeo.
Just search USARAF on any of the above social sites.
Final Thoughts
It is a good thing that we have people and equipment in place to help the people of Africa. With so much chaos happening around the world, Africa is a prime spot for an explosive mess to begin.
Have any of you served in Africa?
What are your thoughts? Just leave any comments and questions below. Thank you.
References
- United States Army Africa on Wikipedia
- United States Army Africa (USARAF) Southern European Task Force (SETAF)
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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