{"id":69940,"date":"2021-04-27T20:30:03","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T20:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/27\/us-troops-now-commuting-to-work-to-help-somalia-fight-al-shabab\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:12:09","slug":"us-troops-now-commuting-to-work-to-help-somalia-fight-al-shabab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/27\/us-troops-now-commuting-to-work-to-help-somalia-fight-al-shabab\/","title":{"rendered":"US troops now \u2018commuting to work\u2019 to help Somalia fight al-Shabab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When President Donald Trump ordered roughly 700 U.S. troops to withdraw from Somalia<\/a> late last year, it decreased the American footprint there, but not the mission to help that country\u2019s military fight back against al-Shabab<\/a>, al-Qaida\u2019s largest affiliate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three months after the completed drawdown<\/a>, senior U.S. Africa Command leaders say that they are essentially doing the same work, but \u201ccommuting\u201d from Europe and other East African countries to get it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no denying that the repositioning of forces out of Somalia has introduced new layers of complexity and risk,\u201d Army. Gen. Stephen Townsend, AFRICOM\u2019s boss, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. \u201c… our understanding of what\u2019s happening in Somalia is less now than it was when we were there on the ground, physically located with our partners. So we\u2019re working to make this new mode of operation work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Shabab continues to carry out attacks around Somalia, including in capital city Mogadishu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And \u201cthey do desire to do harm to the U.S. homeland,\u201d Marine Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Thresher, AFRICOM\u2019s senior enlisted leader, told Military Times on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containing them is AFRICOM\u2019s top priority, and that\u2019s accomplished by sending special operations forces to train, advise and assist local troops in the group\u2019s Somalia home base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With U.S. troops no longer rotating into the country, that means remote meetings over teleconferencing, in addition to periodic trips to the country for more hands-on engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes it more difficult,\u201d Townsend said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make it impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, the command was in the midst of its fourth in-person trip to Somalia, Thresher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in Djibouti and Kenya, he said, the \u201ccommuters\u201d are still remotely training, advising and assisting Somali forces around in-person training, while senior leadership flies in from AFRICOM\u2019s Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters to inspect and meet with leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to point out the tyranny of distance,\u201d Thresher said. \u201c…any time you\u2019re commuting to work, it\u2019s harder. So you have to bring more equipment with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wouldn\u2019t be fair to say AFRICOM has lost any momentum because of the drawdown, officials said, but some of the important details, are more complicated when you\u2019re not co-located.<\/p>\n\n\n\t