Africa is a growing problem because of ISIL. So our new commander for our activities in Africa has a lot to do:
President Barack Obama has nominated Marine Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser for promotion to four-star rank to replace retiring Army Gen. David Rodriguez as head of U.S. Africa Command in the ongoing effort to halt the spread of ISIS on the continent, the Pentagon said Thursday. ...
As head of Africa Command, Waldhauser will be challenged in "building partner capacity, enabling regional forces and combating the metastasis of ISIL and other violent extremists," Carter said. "I am confident that Lt. Gen. Waldhauser will bring the same caliber of strong and steady leadership to AFRICOM that Gen. David Rodriguez has brought to the command for the past three years."
Military Review just published my essay on the potential use of auxiliary cruisers as power projection platforms (dead link updated).
Thanks to the editorial staff for the opportunity to enter and for editing help during the publication process. Sometimes I forget that naval concepts familiar to me aren't necessarily background knowledge for Army audiences who have enough in their own lane to master.
I look forward to hearing ideas from those with far more experience than I have who can either focus the idea along productive lines or expose the ways such a concept could not possibly work.
But at least the problem of projecting power across the vast and varied continent of Africa could be discussed and solved some way, regardless of whether I leave any fingerprints on the solution.
