{"id":42204,"date":"2018-11-05T17:11:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T17:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/05\/two-star-general-green-berets-punished-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-us-soldiers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:52:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:52:51","slug":"two-star-general-green-berets-punished-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-us-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/11\/05\/two-star-general-green-berets-punished-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-us-soldiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-star general, Green Berets punished for deadly Niger ambush that killed 4 US soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military has reportedly punished six troops, including an Air Force two-star general, for their roles in the October 2017 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/05\/10\/overrun-and-outnumbered-special-ops-soldiers-fought-to-the-end-in-deadly-niger-ambush\/\" target=_blank>Niger ambush<\/a> that resulted in the deaths of four American and four Nigerien soldiers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/11\/03\/world\/middleeast\/army-niger-members-punished.html#click=https:\/\/t.co\/wTcQANXJ1r\" target=_blank>The New York Times<\/a> reported Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The punished troops include Air Force Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks, who was the commander of all special operations troops in Africa, and two members of the 11-man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/05\/leaked-isis-propaganda-video-allegedly-shows-deaths-of-us-troops-in-niger-ambush\/\" target=_blank>Army Green Beret team<\/a> that was ambushed. Three others in the team\u2019s chain of command also were reprimanded, according to the Times&#8217; report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those punished reportedly include Capt. Mike Perozeni, the Green Beret team leader, and his second in command, a master sergeant. Those two faced reprimands over their planning and team training prior to the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Times reported that a letter of reprimand given to Perozeni cited the team\u2019s insufficient training and a lack of mission rehearsals. The two senior officers who approved the mission and oversaw the ill-fated operation were not reprimanded, according to the Times, while Hicks was reprimanded for not having appropriate oversight of the officers below him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 6,300-page investigation <a href=\"https:\/\/dod.defense.gov\/News\/Transcripts\/Transcript-View\/Article\/1518332\/department-of-defense-press-briefing-on-the-results-of-the-investigation-into-t\/\" target=\"_blank\">detailed by the Pentagon<\/a> in May said that the mistakes leading up to the ambush were widespread. An unclassified <a href=\"https:\/\/dod.defense.gov\/portals\/1\/features\/2018\/0418_niger\/img\/Oct-2017-Niger-Ambush-Summary-of-Investigation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">eight-page summary<\/a> was released for public viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/10\/niger-investigation-what-went-wrong-whats-being-done-to-fix-it\/\" 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=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17279847282098.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\">Niger investigation: What went wrong, what\u2019s being done to fix it<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Mistakes that led to an outmanned and outgunned convoy of U.S. and Nigerien forces getting overrun last October were widespread, a 6,300-page investigation has found.<\/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\">\u201cThe direct cause of the enemy attack in Tongo Tongo is that the enemy achieved tactical surprise there, and our forces were outnumbered approximately three to one,\u201d said AFRICOM\u2019s former chief of staff, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/10\/09\/new-army-africa-commander-talks-possibility-of-an-african-based-sfab-training-african-ncos-and-more\/\" target=\"_blank\">Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier<\/a>, who led the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AFRICOM investigation had 23 findings. Three pertain to the ground commanders involved with filing and approving the paperwork for the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3070\" height=\"1226\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg 3070w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg?resize=300,120 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg?resize=768,307 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg?resize=1024,409 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg?resize=1536,613 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18013657879901.jpg_1669c8.jpg?resize=2048,818 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3070px) 100vw, 3070px\" \/><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\">What the investigation did not do was make recommendations for any type of punishment to those commanders. Instead, any disciplinary actions were referred \u201cto [U.S. Special Operations Command] for appropriate action,\u201d Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of AFRICOM, said in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Sgt. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright were killed in the deadly Oct. 4, 2017, ambush. The Green Beret team and 30 Nigerien troops were returning from a village near the Malian border when they were overrun by scores of extremist fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team had originally been heading toward the Niger-Mali border in order to conduct a capture or kill mission against an Islamic State group leader named Doundoun Cheffou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After intelligence had located Cheffou, the Green Beret team and its partner forces planned to jointly infiltrate the militant leader\u2019s camp alongside a helicopter-borne team of U.S. special operations and Nigerien counterterrorism forces. Weather caused the helicopter team to be scrubbed, and the ground team continued alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/13\/following-niger-ambush-pentagon-promises-more-air-support-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=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4312668.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\">Following Niger ambush, Pentagon promises more air support in Africa<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">After contact with the enemy, it took an hour and a half for the first American aircraft to arrive overhead the battlefield where four U.S. soldiers were killed near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, on Oct. 4.<\/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 Green Berets did not find Cheffou at his campsite and headed to the nearby village of Tongo Tongo for a key leader engagement. When departing the village, the team was ambushed by the group of Islamic State-aligned militants that had been reportedly tracking the joint team\u2019s movements for hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation found that while the team was authorized to perform key leader engagements and advising for local forces, they were not authorized to perform capture or kill missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The concept of operations paperwork sent up through the chain of command reportedly mischaracterized the nature of the mission. Had the Green Beret team been clear about their intent to pursue Cheffou, a higher level of review would have been required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/niger_video.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-79249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/niger_video.png.png 1500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/niger_video.png.png?resize=300,160 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/niger_video.png.png?resize=768,410 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/niger_video.png.png?resize=1024,546 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An image taken from video released by the Pentagon shows French helicopters landing to evacuate a team of U.S. and Nigerian forces that had come under attack on Oct. 2 near Tiloa, Niger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation determined that the commanders who filed the paperwork were not being intentionally deceptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe paperwork that was submitted, the packet was identical to a previous [concept of operations]. So it was done hastily, and there was a lack of attention to detail,\u201d Cloutier said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a deliberate intent to deceive, it was lack of attention to detail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the ambush, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/30\/after-deadly-niger-ambush-us-military-in-africa-says-changes-made-to-protect-troops\/\" target=_blank>AFRICOM has made several changes<\/a> to better protect troops, including giving forces armored vehicles rather than low-visibility ones, providing armed drones to provide overwatch, and cutting the response time for medical evacuations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The military has reportedly punished six troops for their roles in the October 2017 Niger ambush that resulted in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":37214,"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":[101,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3297],"class_list":["post-42204","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":"N6E3J2ZFGND75FCCK7QCSOMNB4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2018\/11\/05\/two-star-general-green-berets-punished-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-us-soldiers\/","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>Two-star general, Green Berets punished for deadly Niger ambush that killed 4 US soldiers - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The military has reportedly punished six troops for their roles in the October 2017 Niger ambush that resulted in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/11\/05\/two-star-general-green-berets-punished-for-deadly-niger-ambush-that-killed-4-us-soldiers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two-star general, Green 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