{"id":77172,"date":"2020-01-30T17:13:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T17:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/30\/esper-says-us-military-not-withdrawing-from-africom\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:41:47","slug":"esper-says-us-military-not-withdrawing-from-africom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/01\/30\/esper-says-us-military-not-withdrawing-from-africom\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper says US military not withdrawing from AFRICOM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday that the U.S. military would not conduct a full troop withdrawal from Africa, though an ongoing review could result in troop reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers and national security experts have expressed concern over the potential reduction of U.S. troops from the region following an al-Shabab attack on the Manda Bay<\/a>, Kenya, base that killed three Americans, among them a U.S. soldier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon is amidst a review of the U.S. troop posture across the globe as military planners look for avenues to shore up resources and forces to address rising near-peer threats like Russia and China, and to better align policy with the National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know the inclination is whenever someone says \u2018review,\u2019 the word that automatically pops up in their head is \u2018reduction,\u2019\u201d Esper told reporters. \u201cIt is a rebalancing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some cases we will increase, in some cases we won\u2019t change , and in some cases we will decrease,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the U.S. Africa Command <\/a>theater of operations, Esper hinted the U.S. may increase its force posture in areas that address great power competition with less of a focus on counterterrorism operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\t