Tip of the African Spear - Forging an Expeditionary Capability for a Troubled Continent
Aug 2007, Vol. 152, No. 4
By James Shircliffe
The African continent has been plagued with famine, disease, internal conflict and population displacement that quickly crossed national borders to generate further security destabilization. The African Union’s (AU’s) creation of an African Standby Force (ASF) is a step in the right direction for African countries to manage stabilization, complex humanitarian and peace-building missions without completely relying on external partners that have a historically shaky commitment to the continent. The AU has set an ambitious timetable to have the ASF ready to handle all the complex emergencies and contingency operations comprising the full spectrum of operations by 2010. While the five brigades that will make up the ASF are taking shape on paper, the realization of their rapid response potential is a long way off. The main issue is not one of a lack of will, but rather one of a lack of training and resources, particularly financial.
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By James Shircliffe
The African continent has been plagued with famine, disease, internal conflict and population displacement that quickly crossed national borders to generate further security destabilization. The African Union’s (AU’s) creation of an African Standby Force (ASF) is a step in the right direction for African countries to manage stabilization, complex humanitarian and peace-building missions without completely relying on external partners that have a historically shaky commitment to the continent. The AU has set an ambitious timetable to have the ASF ready to handle all the complex emergencies and contingency operations comprising the full spectrum of operations by 2010. While the five brigades that will make up the ASF are taking shape on paper, the realization of their rapid response potential is a long way off. The main issue is not one of a lack of will, but rather one of a lack of training and resources, particularly financial.
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