Newly enlisted members of the Armed Forces of Liberia May 23, 2008
MONROVIA, Liberia – Command Sergeant Major Mark Ripka assists with the in-processing of nearly 500 newly enlisted members of the Armed Forces of Liberia May 23, 2008, following their graduation ceremony from the Advanced Individual Training Course, where Ripka was a guest speaker. Ripka is the senior enlisted member for U.S. Africa Command. The United States partnered with the Liberian government to administer the training which was designed to equip new soldiers and officers with the military skills and techniques necessary for their future army assignments.(Photo by Lieutenant Colonel Terry VandenDolder, U.S. Africa Command)
I have a new article up at the African Loft. AFRICOM: Military Spending Instead of Development Aid? Follow the money. Click on over to read it.
July 31, 2008 at 12:06 am
i guess we’ll have to wait til tomorrow for the bill to be published or more reporting to come out, but one defense source (behind a subscription wall) is reporting that the new house appropriations defense subcommittee’s fiscal year 2009 defense bill released wednesday night
includes a reduction of $308.4 million requested for AFRICOM, which was originally budgeted for the HQ standup
July 31, 2008 at 12:00 pm
the relevant section in the stmt by the chair on the subcommittee, murtha, summarizing the bill on wednesday reads:
Includes a reduction of $308.4 million associated with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The reduction is taken from the amount requested to stand up a new headquarters due to the lack of a suitable location. The reduction does not effect funding for the current headquarters, exercises, counter-terrorism, or counter-drug programs.
as you pointed out in your article, the budgeted amount was $389m to “establish a new command to strengthen ties with African governments, institutions, and organizations to foster an environment of security and peace.”
that remaining $80m won’t get them far down that path