The US military is adjusting its strategy for operations in Africa, but recent decisions could have negative consequences. Notably, Africa Command (AFRICOM) has opted to greatly reduce medical evacuation (medevac) flights in the Sahel. American troops had until recently played a more passive role in counterterrorism operations, primarily advising and training local troops in Niger.

Removing Critical Support

American troops have been relegated to non-combat roles after a 2017 ambush claimed the lives of four soldiers. However, military advisers did join local forces in an operation against Boko Haram in March. Now, future engagements are likely to remain limited in scope as the Pentagon canceled a $23 million contract with Erickson, which provided medevac flights for Army Green Berets, as the New York Times reported.

Erickson used a base in Arlit, Niger, but AFRICOM decided to move the 20th special Forces Group to the border region Niger shares with Mali and Burkina Faso. There, American troops will join a counterterrorism fight that France has predominantly spearheaded. AFRICOM said the region is already served by sufficient medevac support and deemed Erickson’s services unnecessary.

What is the Reality of Current US Medevac Support in the Region?

However, it’s unclear whether such medevac support actually exists. Some lawmakers are pushing back on the Pentagon’s decision and believe future medevac flights will be operated by a single helicopter through Berry Aviation. The H225 Super Puma aircraft ferries injured soldiers to Niamey.

Rep. Michael Waltz, R–Fla., is a former Green Beret and served in West Africa, granting him a familiarity with the issue that is unique among legislators. 

“A lack of support can have serious results when troops are faced with a hostile and determined foe,” Waltz wrote on March 12 to Pentagon officials.

Already, medevac support in West Africa has been subpar according to Defense Department standards, the New York Times reported. In war zones, the US military adheres to “a golden hour standard,” that calls for injured troops to be transported out of harm’s way in one hour or less.

During the 2017 ambush, American troops waited four hours for medevac support.

‘We’ve Begun a Review Process’

A reduction in medevac support (Erickson’s contract expires in June) could be evidence of the US military’s plan to downscale involvement in West Africa. While the chief spokesman for AFRICOM, Col. Christopher Karns, said the troops “were being repositioned,” the Defense Department has been eager to adjust its overarching strategy in Africa.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is considering a barrage of measures designed to reduce Washington’s role in counterterrorism operations on the continent. Closing a drone base, withdrawing troops, and cancelling aid to French allies are all options on the table. America currently has 1.200 troops in West Africa.

Esper began a review of US operations in December and was expected to decide on a new strategy by the end of March, however, the outbreak of COVID-19 delayed it.

“We’ve begun a review process where I’m looking at every theater, understanding what the requirements are that we set out for, making sure we’re as efficient as possible with our forces,” Esper said in December.

Potential Impact on France’s Sahel CT Operations

Reducing medevac support, although it could imperil American lives, is the least that could happen. For France, the implications of a larger shift in Washington’s strategy could undermine the entire fight against terrorists.

“If the US decided to withdraw from Africa, it would be bad news for us,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “I would like to be able to convince President Trump that the fight against terrorism to which he is deeply committed is playing out also in this region.”

Who is Winning the Sahel War?

Western forces in Africa, mainly French and American, are all that stands between a free-for-all for Islamic extremists and a glimmer of hope for free society. Paris has been bogged down by the conflict for seven years and even with US assistance, the reality is that few could claim it is winning the fight.

If anything, the struggle has worsened as terrorists flocked to the Sahel from Syria and Iraq. A lack of intense troop buildup from allied forces, however, meant groups like al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram have often went unopposed. There was no invasion of West Africa like in Iraq and Afghanistan; Africa was and remains an afterthought.

Without US support, or with significantly reduced aid, France will be left on its own in a war it cannot win without a either a large push or more international help. So far, the International community has been content to stand by, hesitant to become involved in another never-ending conflict.

Today, it is Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger that are the predominant hotspots. However, without American help to contain them, terrorists could quickly spill over into bordering states and export extremism across the continent. At this point AFRICOM has only announced cuts to medevac support and a troop relocation, but Esper’s review is unlikely to lead to more American resources being pledged to the fight.

L'articolo Who is Winning the Sahel War? proviene da InsideOver.

“It’s a national emergency, and I would call out the military,” said US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. “We’re at war with the virus.” 

Biden was presenting his ideas for fighting the coronavirus during his first one-on-one debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who advocated for mobilizing the National Guard. Several states have already deployed the National Guard.

Reluctance from the Pentagon

Deploying the full military, as Biden suggested, is another thing entirely, however. American forces do have emergency response plans for times of pandemics, but Pentagon officials stressed that it cannot be viewed as a silver bullet. 

“The Department of Defense is ready, willing and able to support civilian authorities to the greatest extent possible at the direction of the President,” said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman at a press briefing on Monday. “We just want to make sure that the conversation that we have is informed by the facts of what is possible and what is not and what those trade-offs are.”

Biden asserted that the military has “the capacity to provide this surge in help that hospitals need and that is needed across the nation.” Beds, more hands on deck, and mobile care facilities could all quickly bolster the US response. The Democratic candidate cited the military’s help in the 2014 Ebola crisis in Africa as a recent example of the military stepping up and performing emergency civic duties. 

It took considerable effort to convince the Pentagon to deploy 4,000 troops to Africa, however, because the military generally is reluctant to play a role in pandemics. They risk exposure to the virus itself when responding to emergencies such as Ebola or Covid-19. Because a large portion of the US military is young, they could contract the disease and never show symptoms before passing it on to other soldiers, patients, or family members. 

“That hurts our ability to respond without endangering the very people we intend to protect,” an Air Force officer explained to Vox.

The Military is Ill-Suited to Help

The military could provide medical facilities, often referred to as “tent hospitals.” It could even deploy its two medical ships, replete with operating rooms, 1,000 beds apiece, CAT scan equipment, and a pharmacy. Obviously the ships could only cater to patients along the coastal cities, but that would cover a majority of Americans. 

Even setting up tent hospitals presents issues, however.

“What we are really good at is ramping up trauma capability in a hurry,” said retired Vice Adm. Matthew Nathan. “If we just need beds, we are good at that, too.”

The problem is that 6 to 7% of Covid-19 patients require ventilators and intensive care, which the Navy is not capable of providing. Another snag with the idea is the issue of quarantine. Covid-19 has proven to be highly-contagious and quarantine is the first step in addressing it. Tent hospitals are not designed for such a mission. 

“Our hospitals range in size and range in capabilities that are very much focused and designed to take care of those in combat,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs.

Deploying the National Guard also has trade-offs, which could hinder efforts to contain Covid-19, Friedrichs said. 

“If you mobilize the Guard and Reserve medical personnel from their civilian jobs, they’re no longer in their civilian jobs, and that directly impacts the community where they worked – whether it’s a natural disaster, or the coronavirus or anything else.”

Although Trump has not called on the National Guard, 1,600 National Guard soldiers have already been activated.

Limited Power

The Pentagon has plans for extreme emergencies, if the virus cannot be contained or turns deadlier. Establishing “mass casualty” treatment sites and shelters would be the first priority, the Associated Press reported. The US military would also assist with civilian functions like ensuring power and water services. 

It must be emphasized that the the Pentagon delegates first response authority to other law enforcement agencies. If it were to be called upon, it would only be because the National Guard, Customs and Border Patrol, and local police offices have begun to fail, which would be an incredibly extreme scenario. 

In that event, the military would be barred from serving as law enforcement, meaning it could not make arrests or even search people. Historically, Washington has avoided deploying the US military on US soil, even in times of national emergencies. 

Although the Pentagon does possess abilities and equipment that could assist first responders, it is not the best choice. The military, by definition, is designed more for battle and consequently, its medical resources are tailored to that end. It cannot spring up tent hospitals and efficiently quarantine patients simultaneously without possibly risking a larger outbreak.

L'articolo How Can the US Military Help Fight Covid-19? proviene da InsideOver.

Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) near Las Vegas Nevada continues to conduct red flag exercises in the midst of alarm over the novel coronavirus. At the time of this writing most major sports have suspended their seasons, colleges are going exclusively online, my job teaching chess after school is cancelled until further notice, and both the federal and state governments have declared states of emergency. This leads to an important question of how the military will continue with so much disruption and the general public at home due to Covid-19. The answer is surprisingly complex.

US Military vs. Coronavirus

As Nellis’ ongoing red flag exercises show, some training events continue as planned. But single pilots are different and more protected than military members sent for annual training in South Korea. The location of the events, as well as danger of massing soldiers in a single place has forced the military to put a 60 day pause on all maneuvers and they have cancelled the movement of 20,000 soldiers to training Europe, and 15,000 to the Arctic Circle. Despite the jokes from many soldiers that participate them who say they are pretty basic and useless, these are important exercises that increase readiness.

A major example of the effects of exercises can be seen in Poland. It is important for US forces to train for a potential Russian attack. In the event of an attack NATO forces would have to move forward to the Sulwaki Gap likely under heavy Russian fire while NATO air assets tried slow down a Russian invasion. Furthermore, NATO would have to be able to do this within a 72-hour window in which Russian troops would be precisely calculated to complete their objectives. Thus, it’s important for American forces to practice this, and it’s just one example of a cancelled exercise that could affect the military’s ability to counter strategic threats.

DOD Cancels Domestic Travel for Troops

On a more personal level, the Department of Defense has cancelled all domestic travel for troops and employees until May 11. That means that service members can’t visit their families on leave and mostly affects those soldiers completing their permanent change of station (PCS) from one base to another. The impact is that military members who have already arranged to sell their homes on one base suddenly can’t move to another and are now homeless. Or they have already packed and shipped their belongings to a new location but must sit in an empty house with no furniture or silverware. The result is that people’s already stressful moves have to placed on hold and they will have to recover their goods or find temporary housing. This is rather inconvenient for the families involved but thankfully don’t affect national security as much as the cancelled training.

Stopping Coronavirus From Spreading Among Recruits

Basic training is the biggest problem. Recruits spread diseases to such a degree that they have a name for it called “recruit crud” and historians believe it was World War I recruits at military bases that started spreading the 1918 Spanish Flu. Recruits have little personal space while they sleep, shower, and eat with fellow soldiers often less than an arm’s distance away.

To combat this problem the recruit depots now check for temperature upon arrival and quarantine any recruits showing possible symptoms. They are not sent home, but like many other physical injuries the recruit must be fully healthy before they resume (or begin) their training. The military services have also cancelled family day and graduation ceremonies. Ironically, the recruit training is the worst place for the virus because of constant close contact, but also one of the best if some factors are eliminated. Indeed, outside of one day with their parents on base, which has now been cancelled, recruits don’t go anywhere. The bases are self-contained and have their own medical services, and recruits have to undergo thorough physicals before they start training. They have means to enforce strict quarantine efforts as well. So the worst that happens is that many of the most recent recruits are put into the medical battalion, isolated, and resume training several weeks later.

Will Coronavirus Lessen Military Fighting Prowess?

Ironically, the least worrisome aspect of the virus involves actual fighting. Most people who get the disease report mild symptoms, and the death rate for those under 30 is extremely low (about .2%). The military is made up of the younger, stronger, and healthier people than the population on average. This means that the virus could easily sweep through entire units but in combat they would hardly notice their mild flu like symptoms as they stay busy avoiding getting killed and defeating the enemy. Outside of combat, troops should remain worried that they could spread the disease to their aging family members, but this is no different than the population at large.  The coronavirus could be a danger to those already wounded, however, as it’s much more deadly for those with respiratory diseases and underlying health conditions. In the case of combat it would create an even greater need for a separation of the sick from those infected.

In summary, the military is missing vital training and will see a slight dip in new recruits for the next few months, while some military family members are stuck in limbo.  But overall the Coronavirus will have little effect on the actual fighting capabilities of military members and their readiness.

L'articolo How Will Coronavirus Affect the US Military? proviene da InsideOver.