{"id":13989,"date":"2018-02-13T21:50:31","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T21:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/13\/fallout-from-niger-ambush-could-scale-back-africa-missions-strip-commanders-of-autonomy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:44:39","slug":"fallout-from-niger-ambush-could-scale-back-africa-missions-strip-commanders-of-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/13\/fallout-from-niger-ambush-could-scale-back-africa-missions-strip-commanders-of-autonomy\/","title":{"rendered":"Fallout from Niger ambush could scale back Africa missions, strip commanders of autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A probe into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/29\/africom-us-soldiers-did-not-kill-somali-villagers\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Niger ambush<\/a> that killed four U.S. soldiers is expected to recommend reducing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/12\/africom-investigation-team-visits-niger-ambush-site\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">ground missions in West Africa<\/a> and stripping field commanders of the autonomy that allows them to send service members on risky missions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/09\/us\/politics\/american-soldiers-killed-niger-investigation.html\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">The New York Times<\/a> reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the report has not been released, two military officials with knowledge of the findings spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military investigation focused on the events surrounding the ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, on Oct. 4. Four Americans and five Nigeriens were killed near a remote village close to Niger\u2019s border with Mali. The region is flush with activity by militants associated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/31\/new-in-2018-the-fight-against-isis-evolves\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Islamic State<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/18\/american-commandos-face-complicated-mission-in-mali\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">al-Qaeda<\/a>, who often engage local authorities and even French forces operating in Mali. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also highlights the bad decision-making process that may have led to the deadly ambush, according to those sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation found that there was a communications breakdown that resulted from unchecked equipment the soldiers took on their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the unit came under attack, they were unable to establish direct communication with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/26\/french-helicopters-strike-militants-near-niger-ambush-site\/\">French aircraft <\/a>providing cover. Instead, the soldiers had to relay coordinates through other forces in Niamey, Niger\u2019s capital, roughly 120 miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/24\/africom-is-investigating-isis-claims-that-it-has-video-of-the-4-us-soldiers-killed-in-niger\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"126\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-Niger.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">AFRICOM is investigating ISIS claims that it has video of the 4 US soldiers killed in Niger<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Africa Command is investigating a series of posts by a Twitter user claiming to have footage from the October ambush in Niger that killed four U.S. soldiers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report is expected to advise that U.S. troops should continue accompanying partner forces in the region on armed patrols, but the missions should be more thoroughly vetted, the sources said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One measure to subject ground operations to more scrutiny may include approval from senior leadership at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/26\/us-troops-conducted-26-missions-in-niger-over-the-last-six-months\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\" style=\"\">U.S. Africa Command <\/a>headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, or possibly the Pentagon, according to the sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As it stands now, commanders in the field can plan and carry out ground operations at their own discretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926845104919851-march-4-frontlines-7jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Staff Sgt. Todd Reinert, a motor transportation operations chief, guides soldiers through shooting drills prior to a live-fire range in Tiguet, Mauritania, Feb. 15, 2016. Marines and sailors with the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa trained with the Mauritanian Logistics Battalion for five weeks to assist in building its capacity to counter terrorism and provide sovereign security. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Olivia McDonald\/Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If undertaken, the restrictions would scale back some of the autonomy the military currently operates under in Africa, and has asked for in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April, for instance, Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/04\/01\/with-trump-approval-pentagon-expands-warfighting-authority\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Africa Command<\/a>, told Congress that more flexibility and \u201ctimeliness\u201d in decision-making was necessary to combat al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked extremist group in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Trump granted the request that same month, allotting the military more authority to conduct offensive airstrikes on al-Qaeda-linked militants.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The permission was part of a loosened grip on decision-making across the Pentagon\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/04\/13\/trump-i-m-giving-the-military-total-authorization\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">theaters of conflict<\/a>, and a reversal on the tight restrictions that were pervasive during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/19\/us-troops-lack-support-despite-expanding-mission-in-africa\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ARM-AFRICOM.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US troops lack support despite expanding mission in Africa<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A once shadowy mission in the Sahel region of western and north-central Africa has been illuminated since the attack that killed four U.S. soldiers in Niger.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation is supposedly completed and circulating among Pentagon officials, according to The New York Times\u2019 sources. The public release is being delayed, however, until after Waldhauser appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee to present AFRICOM\u2019s annual \u201cposture hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That event is scheduled for the last week of February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"767\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg?resize=300,120 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg?resize=768,307 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,409 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,614 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; These images provided by the U.S. Army show, from left, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Fla.; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All four were killed in Niger, when a joint patrol of American and Niger forces was ambushed on Oct. 4, 2017,  by militants believed linked to the Islamic State group.  The Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency reported Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 that Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi with the self-professed IS affiliate claimed responsibility for the Oct. 4 ambush about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niger&#8217;s capital, Niamey.  (U.S. Army via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, a more classified version of the report will briefed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/21\/military-recovers-additional-remains-from-niger-ambush\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">families of those slain<\/a> in the ambush before a public version is made available to the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is also possible some personnel may receive administrative punishments for skirting the rules when the mission was carried out, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/02\/06\/politics\/us-military-niger-ambush-investigation\/index.html\">CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, roughly 6,000 U.S. troops are deployed across Africa. Most forces, approximately 4,000, are at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, the continent\u2019s primary base of operations for Africa Command, according to the Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, small teams of U.S. special operations forces fan out to other countries on the continent, like Niger, Somalia, Libya and Mali.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A probe into the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. soldiers is expected to recommend reducing ground missions in West Africa and stripping field commanders of the autonomy that allows them to send service members on risky missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26,65,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3277],"class_list":["post-13989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XKS7NE5FKVDXBCKZ7OGYE3PFKQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/13\/fallout-from-niger-ambush-could-scale-back-africa-missions-strip-commanders-of-autonomy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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