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US Africa Command

Army General’s Text to an Enlisted Soldier’s Wife Prompts Investigation

The Army is investigating Major General Joseph Harrington, the commander of US forces in Africa for reportedly sending dozens of messages to the wife of an enlisted soldier under his command.

Gen. Harrington’s alleged Facebook messages, many of whom are suggestive, range from flattering to flirty and include a request to the woman that she delete them. If in fact, he did send those messages it would be a serious breach of protocol and military law.

The woman initially met the general at the gym and soon after began receiving texts and messages from him related to business, but soon things began to change. The two were never physical and the woman, who refused to identify herself because she feared reprisals against her husband, became concerned when the messages got progressively more suggestive.

The messages, many sent late at night, veer from the mundane to the personal. Harrington oversees the Army’s activities in Africa from a post in northern Italy. In some texts, he complained about travel and getting sick on local food.

In others, he doted on the woman’s appearance, referring to her as “HOTTIE,” and “looking good for sure.” In another series he wrote: “You seem to have a great modeling resume! Truly! Though I hadn’t noticed! Where is your hubby tonight? Work?”

When she replied that she’d fought with her husband, and that he was asleep, Harrington responded: “I’m sorry! Make up se…x is fun”

Harrington suggested “U can be my nurse,” and added, “I’d enjoy being in a tent with U.”

The fact that Harrington asked the woman to delete his messages, is him admitting that what he’s doing is not only wrong but perhaps a violation of military law. And the military won’t take kindly to this since they’ve had other cases recently that have given the services a black eye.

To read the entire article from The USA Today click here:

Photo courtesy US Army

Trump Expanding Special Operations To Target Militants in Somalia

President Trump is expanding the Pentagon’s ability to and the US Africa Command to launch a more effective offensive campaign against the al-Shabab militant group in Somalia. This signing off by the President should clear the way for more airstrikes and a more active presence of U.S. Special Operations Forces on the ground.

This move should also mark a shift in policy where in the past, Special Operations forces were forced to act in a defensive posture or “self-defense” of US advisors and their Somali counterparts. Now they will be able to take a more offensive role in helping Somali units recapture territory from al-Shabab and putting more pressure on them.

American forces have been increasingly active in Somalia in recent years. The Obama administration never abandoned its “signature strike” bombing program in either Somalia or Yemen, which allowed for U.S. drones and manned aircraft to target groups of men who merely showed signs and behaviors of belonging to terrorist groups. The largest of those strikes came in March 2016, when U.S. warplanes bombed an al-Shabab training camp north of Mogadishu, killing what the Pentagon estimated were about 150 militants.

Late last year, the Obama team declared Shabab an “associated force” of al Qaeda, putting the group under the same tenuous legal umbrella that allows the U.S. government to wage war in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

U.S. commandos on the ground in Somalia accompany government forces on patrol, and have the authority to shoot back or call in airstrikes if threatened, under rules set down by the Obama administration.

General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of Africa Command has said that welcomes the ability to call for attacks and airstrikes from his command HQs rather than have to wait for approval by Washington.

He said the shift in policy from the Obama administration will give his commanders the ability to launch offensive strikes that would allow his ability “to prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion.”

To read the Foreign Policy entire article click here:

Photo courtesy of US Africa Command