By Ann Roosevelt
U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) recently conducted a mission rehearsal exercise (MRX) for the next commander and staff for the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF HOA).
The Defense Department created CJTF HOA in 2002 and some 1,800 personnel in Djibouti execute the mission to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interests to prevail against terrorism.
The mission is one application of concepts being discussed at the highest levels of the Pentagon and being incorporated into various war games.
“The success of our efforts there in the region will depend on an integrated approach that combines diplomacy development and defense and our desired outcome with the CJTF Horn of Africa focuses on preventing conflict and promoting stability there as well as promoting our interest,” Army Col. Dan Grymes, deputy Joint Warfighting Center Operations Officer at JFCOM said in a teleconference Jan. 16.
“We’re conducting a mission rehearsal exercise and will prepare the nucleus of the next CJTF HOA commander and his staff for the challenges ahead, challenges in development, diplomacy and defense,” Grymes said.
The mission rehearsal exercise is a priority for JFCOM, and, Grymes said, in his opinion, is equal to the mission rehearsal exercises the command does for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rear Adm. Philip Greene, the next CJTF Horn of Africa commander, previously was director of policy, resources and strategy at U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa at Naples, Italy, with experience in the region. Greene will depart for Africa in the next couple of weeks for a year-long tour.
CJTF HOA encompasses 13 countries and spans the equivalent of two-thirds of the landmass of the continental United States, Grymes said. About 325 people all told are involved in the MRX, about 80 from the next CJTF HOA.
Greene said the training has been a “rich experience” and he and his staff have been involved in pre-deployment work ups for the last four months.
There are three reasons why the JFCOM training is so valuable, Greene said. First the experience, insights and incorporation of lessons learned gleaned by the command staff from previous CJTF HOA exercises and work around the world. The ability to bring back current CJTF HOA staff, as well as liaison officers from Djibouti and Mauritius, help by providing ground truth blended with the JFCOM work.
The third reason for the value is the senior mentor program. A retired Marine lieutenant general works with him offering his experience and leadership perspective and past regional experience.
“On the philosophical side, from my perspective, our main mission out in the Horn of Africa and East Africa region is to develop partnerships and forge relationships,” Greene said. “It’s key for us to do that, in the context of what we call the three Ds, which are the development, defense and diplomacy pieces of our mission set. Those all serve to support the end states, which I think are very important which is: increase in security, improving stability and enabling sovereignty as we partner with African counterparts.”
Greene sees his role as enabling African solutions to African problems.
Current CJTF HOA deputy commander Army Brig. Gen. Sanford “Skip” Holman said they emphasize development. “Our focus is on theater security cooperation and enhancing the capability and capacity of the nations that we have relationships with and giving them the capability to provide counter-terrorism type of support.”
At JFCOM, Greene and his staff use all the command and control systems and mechanisms the unit will find in Africa, Grymes said. “We’ve taken great pains to ensure that what they train with is what they’ll operate with.”
It’s a creative process, Greene said. Role players add realism as the different scenarios unfold, ranging across the spectrum from a country ambassador, to Office of the Secretary of Defense staff, the Joint Staff, Central Command, and non-govermental organizations.
“This all adds a level of realism and creates a sense of urgency creates the right kind of atmosphere for the best training,” Greene said.
The training is “all geared towards the lines of effort related coop, related to engagement, related to civil affairs and then how we best communicate and plan to support delivering the capacity and capability that Camp Lemonier [Djibouti] and that CJTF Horn of Africa provide,” he said.
Grymes said, it takes JFCOM about six months to prepare for the MRX, and the command conducts one such exercise each year. JFCOM will stay in touch with the current commander and staff, developing lessons learned, and then visit Greene’s staff. All of this is to ensure the MRX remains relevant and current.
At the end of the day, Greene said, “I’m very, very proud to be involved in conflict prevention efforts. In the end if what we’re doing with respect to the efforts we engage in with our partners on the development side and diplomacy side results in conflict prevention then the investment of our time and effort will have paid huge dividends. So for us it’s about, make no mistake, the conflict prevention piece, ensuring that our homeland is protected in the best way possible and if we can enhance that through forging relationships building partnerships creating capacity so our African friends are contributors to the security environment, so that they can stimulate their own economic and social development so they can make a better life for their own people, then I think we’ll all feel we have done a great thing.”