{"id":55191,"date":"2020-03-17T12:47:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T12:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/17\/africom-predicts-mission-training-somalias-lightning-bridgade-will-last-until-2027\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:44:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:44:29","slug":"africom-predicts-mission-training-somalias-lightning-bridgade-will-last-until-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/17\/africom-predicts-mission-training-somalias-lightning-bridgade-will-last-until-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"AFRICOM predicts mission training Somalia\u2019s \u2018Lightning Brigade\u2019 will last until 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Africa Command isn\u2019t expecting its mission to build up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/05\/21\/us-troops-nonprofit-trainers-and-a-lightning-brigade-battle-for-somalia\/\" target=\"_blank\">Somalia\u2019s Danab Advance Infantry Brigade<\/a> to end anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Pentagon weighs adjusting troop presence in Africa and elsewhere, AFRICOM is predicting it will continue to develop the so-called \u201cLightning Brigade\u201d until 2027 \u2014 approximately a decade after the U.S. Special Operations forces first got involved training the specialized infantry to combat<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/11\/us-warplanes-pummeling-al-shabab-fighters-in-somalia-as-jihadi-group-poses-increasing-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\"> al-Qaida offshoot al-Shabab<\/a>, who has between 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Danab is a capable force, especially there in Somalia,\u201d AFRICOM\u2019s deputy director of operations Army Brig. Gen. Miguel Castellanos told Military Times. \u201cI think our engagement on a day-to-day basis with the Danab soldiers is very helpful for them to get the experience and see the professionalism of our forces.&#8221;<\/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\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/17\/special-operations-forces-kick-off-international-exercise-in-the-sahel-the-tinderbox-of-terrorist-activity\/\" 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\/5127406.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\">Special operations forces kick off international exercise in the Sahel, the \u2018tinderbox of terrorist activity\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. and 30 other countries will have an opportunity to hone their intelligence-sharing skills at Flintlock, an annual military exercise that gets underway Feb. 17.<\/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\">Since the Danab was first formed in 2013, the force has expanded from approximately 150 personnel to between 800 to 1,000 troops. Ultimately, Castellanos said the goal is build up a force of 3,000 Danab troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before working with U.S. military advisers, those training to become Danab forces first work with Bancroft Global Development, a nonprofit organization who works with the State Department to recruit and train Danab forces, a State Department official in the region <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/05\/21\/us-troops-nonprofit-trainers-and-a-lightning-brigade-battle-for-somalia\/\" target=\"_blank\">told Military Times in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The personnel are then handed over to U.S. military advisers for additional training in advanced warfighting techniques, among other things. AFRICOM did not disclose which military units are in Somalia training the Danab, citing force protection considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After years of training with U.S. troops, the Danab forces now are conducting most missions on their own, according to Castellanos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat training is going well&#8230;I would say most of the time they are able to go out on their own and perform missions on their own,\u201d Castellanos said. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming more and more common that they\u2019re doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Castellanos credited the Danab forces\u2019 improvement to experience. Likewise, he said U.S. troops who rotate in and out of Somalia have often served in Somalia previously and are therefore familiar with the Danab troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, recruitment of new Danab forces has slowed in recent months \u2014 an outcome Castellanos attributed to difficulties the Federal Government of Somalia has had finding \u201cappropriate soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal government also has a tendency to become sidetracked when not focusing on establishing security or combating al-Shabaab, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think part of it\u2019s just been that slow building for the government to provide soldiers,\u201d Castellanos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For some experts, this is cause for concern \u2014 particularly given that Somalia is poised to take over security responsibilities from the peacekeeping African Union Mission in Somalia forces by 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Katherine Zimmerman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an adviser to AEI\u2019s Critical Threat Projects, there are some uncertainties after this turnover happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the real concerns that I have are going to be whether this force continues to build&#8230;if you\u2019re looking at the timeline that we\u2019re operating on, there\u2019s the looming 2021 deadline with the AMISOM forces and kind of this big question of what comes next after that,&#8221; Zimmerman told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AMISOM mission is backed by the United Nations and was first launched in 2007 to enhance stability in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul Williams, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University, doesn\u2019t believe the Danab and the rest of the Somali National Army will be adequately prepared by 2021 to counter the threat of al-Shabab and provide stability for Somalia as nearly 20,000 AMISOM forces scale back their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the Danab units remain the \u201cmost effective\u201d in the Somali National Army, Williams said they don\u2019t have the capacity to \u201cdo everything\u201d and advised Somalia politicians against diverting Danab forces from missions they\u2019ve been trained to do, such as offensive operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSomali politicians must guard against the desire to break up the units or use them for missions they are not trained to conduct, including holding operations,&#8221; Williams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Historically, experts have voiced similar skepticism regarding the Danab\u2019s ability to independently counter al-Shabab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, EJ Hogendoorn, then-deputy program director for the International Crisis Group\u2019s Africa program, told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March 2018 that Danab forces were \u201cnot enough to take on al-Shabab\u201d and provide stability in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likewise, he said that the Somali National Army was \u201cpoorly coordinated\u201d and that it\u2019s ability to operate was crippled due to \u201cmassive corruption.\u201d<\/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\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/08\/airstrike-takes-out-a-top-terrorist-suspected-of-involvement-in-attack-on-us-personnel-in-kenya\/\" 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=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6014448.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\">Airstrike takes out a top terrorist suspected of involvement in attack on US personnel in Kenya<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. State Department had offered up to a $5 million reward for information that led to his capture.<\/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\">AFRICOM nevertheless remains optimistic, and Castellanos said the maturing of Danab troops in recent years has rendered \u201cpositive\u201d effects for the Somali National Army, who look up to the elite forces. Specific areas where the Somali National Army has improved include the ability to better keep terrain from al-Shabab, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the Danab forces reach 3,000 troops, it\u2019s uncertain what that would mean for the U.S. training mission and whether the Danab forces would be entirely self-sufficient. But Castellanos signaled that some U.S. involvement was likely and would prove beneficial in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it\u2019s going to probably depend on the circumstances,\u201d Castellanos said. \u201cI think right now, based on the last year, I would say that if we continue to have episodic engagements with the forces, I think that\u2019s probably going to be helpful just to maintain their level of ability and capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, as Danab troops retire or exit the service, Castellanos stressed the value of some U.S. engagement to train new crops of troops who join the Danab forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think we\u2019re always going to have that little presence there where we\u2019re able to&#8230;retrain, and reexamine, reassess the capabilities of those teams,\u201d Castellanos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to training Danab forces, the U.S. has also stepped in to conduct airstrikes against al-Shabab in Somalia. Strikes have ramped up under the Trump administration and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/08\/airstrike-takes-out-a-top-terrorist-suspected-of-involvement-in-attack-on-us-personnel-in-kenya\/\" target=_blank>AFRICOM conducted<\/a> a record number of 63 strikes in 2019 in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, the command has conducted 26 air strikes in 2020 \u2014 a pace that \u201clightly exceeds\u201d that of 2019, according to AFRICOM spokeswoman Navy Lt. Christina Gibson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across the entire African continent, the Department of Defense has approximately 6,000 personnel. There are between 650 to 800 U.S. troops in Somalia at any given time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those troops are essential in Somalia to quash the threat of al-Shabab \u2014 particularly to the U.S., according to Castellanos. However, the U.S.&#8217;s current footprint could change, given the Pentagon\u2019s review of all the combatant commands as the Pentagon directs attention to Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While AFRICOM has said that al-Shabab has a desire to attack the U.S. homeland, the command does not believe that the al-Qaida offshoot has the capacity to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAl-Shabab is a disease to the people of Somalia and the broader international community,\u201d AFRICOM spokesman Air Force Col. Chris Karns told Military Times. \u201cThe ounce of prevention we provide to this international effort strengthens our partnership and helps disrupt al-Shabab\u2019s vision, desire and appetite for destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Pentagon weighs adjusting troop presence in Africa and elsewhere, AFRICOM is predicting it will continue to build the so-called  \u201cLightning Brigade\u201d until 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":85554,"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":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3299],"class_list":["post-55191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G442OHDNHBE2NCRG56TJ5KK6XQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/17\/africom-predicts-mission-training-somalias-lightning-bridgade-will-last-until-2027\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AFRICOM predicts mission training Somalia\u2019s \u2018Lightning Brigade\u2019 will last until 2027 - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Pentagon weighs adjusting troop presence in Africa and elsewhere, AFRICOM is predicting it will continue to build the so-called \u201cLightning Brigade\u201d until 2027.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFRICOM predicts mission training Somalia\u2019s \u2018Lightning Brigade\u2019 will last until 2027\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the Pentagon weighs adjusting troop presence in Africa and elsewhere, AFRICOM is predicting it will continue to build the so-called \u201cLightning Brigade\u201d until 2027.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/03\/17\/africom-predicts-mission-training-somalias-lightning-bridgade-will-last-until-2027\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-17T12:47:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T08:44:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diana Stancy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Diana Stancy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": 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