{"id":34283,"date":"2018-03-13T18:34:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T18:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/13\/senators-consider-putting-africom-headquarters-staff-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:54:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:54:00","slug":"senators-consider-putting-africom-headquarters-staff-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/03\/13\/senators-consider-putting-africom-headquarters-staff-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators consider putting AFRICOM headquarters, staff in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 A key defense lawmaker wants to know why, after more than 10 years of operations in Africa<\/a>, the U.S. combatant command for the continent still isn\u2019t located there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the issue may be worth revisiting in the near future, given the \u201cdisjointed\u201d nature of AFRICOM\u2019s current setup. The youngest of the nine combatant commands<\/a> has been based in Germany since its founding in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of AFRICOM<\/a>, acknowledged the topic has been discussed in the past but said shifting the main headquarters site (and about 1,500 Defense Department employees) would be a significant cost with questionable return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said selecting a country for the new location in Africa could raise questions of \u201cwhat it would mean for other partners in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and committee\u2019s No. 2 Republican, put it more bluntly: \u201cIt\u2019s about perceived colonialism.\u201d He said worries about U.S. forces moving en masse on the continent could undermine partnerships and missions there.<\/p>\n\n\n\t