AFRICOM's strategy and the role of sea power:
The U.S. Africa Strategy and the Defense Department’s Strategy for Africa provide a framework for engagement with African nations to help them create a “self-reliant, stable, and prosperous continent.” In alignment with these strategies, U.S. Naval Forces Africa, or NAVAF, postures our forces in strategic locations to improve maritime security and helps our African partner navies and coast guards to improve their own abilities to identify and deal with threats.
I proposed a tool--the modularized auxiliary cruiser I christened The AFRICOM Queen--to enable a maritime component of AFRICOM in this Military Review article.
AFRICOM will always be low on the priority list for Navy assets. And because of that, AFRICOM boasts using allocated Navy assets in innovative ways.
An innovative platform like The AFRICOM Queen that doesn't rely on the Navy or allies would be a step up in providing persistent sea-based presence in African waters.
