Stuttgart

If you wind up at CJTF-HOA and you're on the J-staff somewhere, it is likely that you will end up going to AFRICOM HQ for one reason or another.  Here are some observations.  First, you will definitely have to fly overnight and end up in Germany the next morning so remember to figure that into your scheduling.  Second, you should have no problem reserving a rental car in Stuttgart.  I chose Hertz; Avis is right next to it.  Driving in Germany is not really difficult and if you're here for just a short period you don't have to worry about anything other than having a valid U.S. license.  Do what you can to study up on how the right-of-way is handled because that's the only thing I had trouble with.  Third, you may be tempted to stay at the Kelley Hotel because it is a couple hundred yards from the AFRICOM buildings.  Don't.  I'm sure the hotel is great but the Panzer Hotel is aboard Panzer Kaserne and the base facilities here are so much better than Kelley Barracks.  Both are part of the Army Lodging system and are the first places you're required to stay when on orders.  Panzer is about a fifteen minute drive to Kelley and is worth the effort.  Fourth, make sure you plan enough time to get an access badge, which means making sure that your clearance info has been sent before you leave HOA.

The X Factor

Another player in this game is Marine Forces Africa, the service component of USAFRICOM. (A Short Aside: The various Combatant Commands throughout the world, as shown on the map below, all have components of the four armed services that function as force providers. A force provider is a headquarters that handles the deployment of its particular service members so they can support whatever exercises or contingencies that the Combatant Command is responsible for. Therefore, in addition to MARFORAF, there is also USARAF, US Air Forces Africa, and NAVAF.) Part of the reporting instructions for MARFORAF is to be thoroughly briefed and cognizant of the roles and responsibilities that you will have during your deployment. This is typically summed up in a billet description.

My situation is a little more complex, however. There are apparently a few different billets that I might be slotted in to but no one has quite figured out which one it may be yet. For now, there's really no impact on my preparations. I'm still trying to get some training done and go to medical next week. The difficulty is going to come later when I try to study up on what exactly I'm going to need to know. Things like joint doctrinal publications that would be handy to have read will have to be put on hold. But, since the unofficial motto of the Marine Corps is Semper Gumby, Always Flexible, I don't really think it will be much of a problem. I look at it as an adventure unfolding before my feet, with pleasant surprises, sunshine, and lollipops as far as the eye can see.

AFRICOM

So I chose a billet within the newly established combatant command responsible for Africa: AFRICOM. Once that was done I decided to look up some information on it and see what this was all about. Five minutes on the Google opened my eyes quite a bit. There's a whole host of people out there who hate AFRICOM and vow to resist it as much as possible. They believe it is part of the United States' plan to re-colonize the continent. After some learned study I have to conclude that their fears are understandable, given the history of Africa, but off the mark. The U.S. doesn't want colonies. We want viable trading partners. The U.S. doesn't want to steal Africa's resources. We want to buy them at stable market prices. And for those who think that this move is just to further the militarization of the continent, I would point out that there is plenty of militarization already and that part of Africa's problem is that their militaries can't always be trusted to work for the good of the people. One of AFRICOM's goals is to change that and to professionalize the various military organizations so that they behave responsibly under the control of responsible civilian governments. I just can't see that as a bad thing.

I could go on and on about this, and I probably will, but right now I'm still in Seattle going over the pages and pages of reporting instructions and the shockingly long list of vaccinations I have waiting for me.