US Army Europe and Africa Commands consolidate

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The consolidation of these two Army service component commands under one four-star commander will play a vital role in supporting missions across two interconnected theaters of operation.

On Friday 20 November, the US Army announced the consolidation of US Army Europe and US Army Africa into a new command, US Army Europe and Africa (USAREURAF).

This new command will be the Army service component command for both US Africa Command and US European Command. Recently promoted General Christopher G Cavoli will be the commander of USAREUR-AF.

“US Africa Command welcomes the news that the US Army has consolidated US Army Africa and US Army Europe into a single 4-star led command while still retaining a General Officer-led deployable headquarters that will wake up every day focusing on Africa,” said US Army General Stephen Townsend, commander of US Africa Command. “This dual-hatted component model is consistent with our other service components supporting US Africa Command and US European Command and is a proven model for success.”

Under this structure, US Army Africa/Southern European Task Force is re-designated as the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and its two-star commanding general, US Army Major General Andrew Rohling, will also serve as USAREUR-AF’s deputy commanding general for Africa.

The consolidation of these two Army service component commands under one four-star commander will play a vital role in supporting missions across two interconnected theatres of operation, US Africa Command said.

“The organizational change enables US Africa Command’s ability to leverage unique and versatile joint force capabilities and address mutual security interests in Africa. While the structure of our Army component has changed, this is another step in our continued commitment to working with African partners on shared security interests,” said Townsend.

This consolidation also allows the headquarters to focus on strategic-level tasks, while the recently re-activated V Corps and re-designated SETAF-AF will focus on readiness and interoperability with allies and partners at the operational and tactical levels.

SETAF-AF, based in Vicenza, Italy, is responsible for all Army operations and assets in Africa and Italy and will maintain direct coordination with US Africa Command. With a rotational forward headquarters in Poznan, Poland, V Corps will be integral to the planning and synchronization of operations in Europe.

All units assigned to US Army Africa will be reassigned to USAREUR-AF.