US military has 5000 personnel in Africa – Pentagon Spokesman

The US has 5000 personnel in Africa, most of them operating from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti in Eastern Africa, Captain Jeff Davis, director of press operations at the Pentagon told journalists at a press briefing at the Foreign Press Centre in Washington DC.

The transcript of the briefing which has been published on the Department of State website May 15, 2017 quoted Captain Davis as saying that Africa is an enduring interest for the United States, and its importance will continue to increase as African economies, populations, and influence grow.

He said, relatively small but wise investments in African security institutions today offer disproportionate benefits for the rest of the world in the future which creates mutual opportunities and reduces the risks of destabilization, radicalization, and persistent conflict.

“The United States has about 5,000 personnel on the continent in Africa on any given day, the bulk of which operate from Camp Lemonnier, which is in Djibouti,” he said.

According to defense publications, such as Africa Defense the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) says about 2000 US soldiers are deployed in Africa on any given day to conduct theater security cooperation activities, train with African partners and participate in exercises.

“A main tenet of America’ effort is limited forward presence on the continent with a focus on building our African partner nation capabilities across a range of functions sharing information with them so that they can have better situational awareness and can be more effective,” Captain Davis told the journalists.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
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