SETAF becomes Army component for the US Army Africa Command
Thursday, January 29th, 2009The US Army Southern European Task Force has officially announced it’s new role as the Army component for the US Africa Command, and has embarked on a mission to strengthen relationships with African army organizations and partners.
The commander of the US Army Africa, Major General William Garrett, announced in an online conference that the transformation of the SETAF to Africa Army command is a symbol of the US commitment to Africa and its continued interest in supporting Africa through contingency operations, crisis response, disaster relief and humanitarian missions.
Since the 1990s, SETAF has worked to support Africa, including priority areas such as Liberia, Rwanda, Uganda, Congo and the former Zaire. Their primary goal going forward is to not only respond to crises, but to be able to strengthen African land forces so that they can successfully prevent conflivts while promoting peace throughout the continent.
One of the priorities of the SETAF is to provide cultural awareness for the land troops to ensure greater support to endeavors throughout the richly diverse nations in which they perform their tasks.
Garrett also indicated that assuming command of US Army Africa forces and strengthening relationships within Africa coincides with the new understanding by the US government of Africa’s rise in strategic importance.