US, Spain Sign Deal On Permanent Base For Africa Force

Washington and Madrid signed a deal Wednesday setting up a permanent force of 2,200 US Marines based in southern Spain who can be swiftly deployed to crises in Africa.
The US already has a rapid reaction force of about 800 troops at Morón de la Frontera, near Seville, who were deployed temporarily in the wake of the 2012 attack on a US mission in Benghazi, eastern Libya.
Wednesday's accord amends a 1988 defense partnership between the two countries.
The main mission of the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response unit will be to protect US embassies in Africa, evacuate civilians in difficulty, or intervene in conflicts or humanitarian crises.
It will come under the US military command for Africa (AFRICOM) which is based in Stuttgart, Germany.
defensenews

US wants elite Marine squad to be stationed permanently in Morón de La Frontera, Spain

The United States is seeking permission from Spain to convert its temporary presence at the Morón de la Frontera air base, in Andalusia, into a permanent agreement. The site would become the center of operations for the US rapid-response unit dealing with crises in Africa.
In a letter sent last month, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel explained to Spanish officials that the Obama administration wants the current temporary agreement that allows a certain number of marines to be stationed at the base outside Seville on a year-by-year basis to be redrafted. If approved, as many as 3,000 US troops could be sent to Morón – a substantial increase to the current 850 officials (or 1,100 when troops are being relieved) that have been at the base for the past two years, military sources said.
But such a move means that there will have to be major changes to the current bilateral treaty regarding the US government’s use of Spanish bases, which will also have to be approved by Congress.
Major changes will be needed to the bilateral treaty regarding the US government’s use of Spanish bases
Although not surprised by Hagel’s request, some Spanish officials said privately that they are unhappy that the Obama administration waited this long to ask for the change. The current agreement to use Morón as a temporary base runs out on April 19, which doesn’t leave either side much time to hammer out a new treaty.
With municipal and regional elections slated for May, and the dissolution of Congress scheduled for the fall, neither Washington nor Madrid want to leave this decision for a new incoming parliament as they both fear the Popular Party (PP) won’t have a majority to get it passed by lawmakers. The government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said that it will ask the Socialists for their support to modify the treaty.
According to sources, Spain could offer the United States an extension to the existing agreement to give the two countries ample time to negotiate changes to the existing treaty and deliver it to Congress for its approval.
Neither Washington nor Madrid want to leave this decision for a new incoming parliament
In 2013, the United States asked Spain to lease the base at Morón so that it could quickly respond to any crises originating in Africa. The request was made for one year, and renewed in 2014. Initially, Madrid only allowed 500 Marines at Morón, but increased that number to 850 last March.
Spain plays an important role in the Pentagon’s military strategy in Africa and Europe. In October 2011, Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero allowed the United States to use the Rota naval base in Cádiz as part of NATO’s defense shield. The guided missile destroyers USS Donald Cook and USS Ross, which are both stationed at Rota, were deployed to the Black Sea last year during the Ukrainian crisis.
The Special Purpose Marine Ground Task Force (SP-MAGTF), which was created in 2013 following the assault on the US diplomatic mission in Bengazhi the previous year, has been training with Spanish elite squads.
One of the most sensitive issues is the number of troops that will be stationed at Morón when the treaty is signed. “What we don’t want is an open bar,” said one diplomatic source. “The Spanish government needs to be informed precisely during a crisis and control any military operations originating from its soil.”
elpais

USAF C-17 lands in Liberia opening US military anti-Ebola airlift

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster landed in Monrovia, Liberia, on 19 September, carrying the first of 3,000 US military personnel that will deploy to West Africa in an effort to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
The aircraft carried a heavy duty forklift, drill set, a generator and a team of seven military personnel, including engineers and airfield specialists who are assigned to assess the payload capacity and stability of airport runways in Liberia’s capital.
flightglobal

Air Force may move drones, personnel inside Niger

The Air Force may redeploy its remotely piloted aircraft in Niger, moving the drones to a remote area in the Sahara to better position them to watch Islamic militants in the area.
Last year, the Air Force deployed about 100 airmen and remotely piloted aircraft to Niamey in the southwestern region of Niger to “provide support for intelligence collection and ... facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali”. The deployment included Air Force security forces to protect the aircraft.
U.S. Africa Command is looking to move the aircraft about 450 miles north to Agadez. That city of in the northern part of the country has a small airstrip on its southern edge.
The move is at the request of, and in coordination with the government of Niger and the Nigerian Armed Forces, AFRICOM.
This location would be closer for crews to keep an eye on militants spreading in Libya to the north. Nigeria agreed to the U.S. presence to help secure the country’s borders against jihadist infiltrations from Libya.
Aircraft would still operate at the Niamey base.
The Air Force, on Aug. 21, posted a solicitation for 18 shelter systems to house U.S. aircraft and personnel in in Agadez. Earlier solicitations sought jet fuel and runway repair in the area. The move would not fully take place until the infrastructure at the base is ready.
U.S. drones have also been deployed to N’Djamena, Chad, and bases in the Horn of Africa and the Seychelles. Additional surveillance flights over Libya are flown from bases in Italy.
airforcetimes

U.S. mission in place to aid in the search for 250 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria

The US are conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria in the search for more than 250 abducted schoolgirls and is considering the deployment of drones to the region to bolster the effort.
The US has 27 experts and security officials assigned to the mission already in place in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. The team includes five State Department officials, 10 Pentagon planners and advisers who were already in Nigeria, and seven more sent from the U.S. military’s Africa Command, along with four FBI experts in safe recovery, negotiations and prevention of kidnappings.
Officials say U.S. drones could be called into service in hunt for the 250 schoolgirls abducted by Islamists.
The United States will use its own satellite or other surveillance data and provide intelligence analysis for the search effort.
A senior Pentagon official said that the United States has not mobilized drones to aid the search but that commanders in Africa are exploring whether to do so.
The United States has drones at three military outpost in Africa — in Djibouti in the eastern Horn of Africa, where both armed and unarmed aircraft are based, and in Ethi­o­pia and Niger, which shares a long border with Nigeria. The U.S. Air Force began using unarmed drones from Niger early last year on surveillance missions in search of al-Qaeda fighters and guerrillas from other groups in north and west Africa.
The United States also is likely to provide help monitoring and intercepting communications among members of Boko Haram.
U.S. officials cautioned that the mission to find the schoolgirls would not be easy.
washingtonpost

Spain OKs boost in crisis response force Marines

The Spanish government will allow an additional 300 Marines to be based at Morón Air Base to respond to crises in Africa.
The Marine Corps has the go-ahead to boost the size of its Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response from about 550 Marines to 850. Spain also will allow the unit to remain at Morón Air Base for another year.
The land-based crisis response force was stood up last year to fill a gap in available Navy amphibious ships in the region. The crisis-response Marines can be tapped to carry out a variety of operational missions — including embassy reinforcement — throughout Africa.
The unit typically comprises about 550 Marines, six MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and two KC-130J aerial refueling planes.
Spain also approved additional Marine Corps aircraft to be based there.
marinecorpstimes

US Marines, Spanish pilots conduct bilateral carrier landings

As part of a larger effort to increase international cooperation, U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response conducted a bilateral carrier qualification with their Spanish counterparts from Maneuver Helicopter Battalion #4 (BHELMA IV) aboard USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).
The carrier qualification gave the pilots from SP-MAGTF Crisis Response and BHELMA IV a dedicated opportunity to practice fundamental skills associated with operating carrier-based aircraft and demonstrate acceptable levels of proficiency.
Positioned out of Morón Air Base, Spain, the approximately 500 personnel of SP-MAGTF CR come from various elements of the Marine Corps: aviation, ground combat arms, and logistics. As a part of their mission, SP-MAGTF CR conducts military-to-military training with African and European nations.
The Marines created the unit as part of the Department of Defense’s continuing effort to improve its crisis response capability around the globe.
SP-MAGTF CR is a self-deployable and highly mobile force designed to respond to missions in the U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command areas of responsibility.
Various aircraft were used during the training. The Marines flew the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, while BHELMA IV flew both the CH-47 Chinook and the AS532 Cougar helicopters. During the carrier qualification, take-off and landing were performed in mixed sections, meaning that American and Spanish aircraft were paired together for alternating landings.
marforeur.marines

Marines positioned to respond to South Sudan if needed

About 150 Marines were dispatched to the Horn of Africa from Spain on Monday to be positioned to provide security or evacuate Americans from violence-racked South Sudan.
The move follows an incident Saturday in which three aircraft were hit by ground fire as they attempted to rescue Americans.
The aircraft turned back, but another effort Sunday was successful in evacuating Americans from Bor in South Sudan.
The Marines arrived in Djibouti from their base in Moron, Spain. They are from a force of more than 500 Marines established this year to more quickly respond to crises in Africa. The special purpose "air-ground task force" is trained to provide security for U.S. property and evacuate Americans when needed. They are capable of responding to a crisis within six hours of notification.
Security in South Sudan has been deteriorating for the past week and hundreds of Americans and other foreigners have been evacuated in recent days, the State Department has said. The country plunged into chaos after an attempted coup triggered fighting between rival ethnic groups.
usatoday

U.S. Sending Drones All Around Africa

Africa,will see an enormous increase in the sorties of unmanned aerial vehicles remotely piloted by U.S. airmen. The commander of U.S. forces in Africa has purportedly requested a “15-fold increase in surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering on the continent.”
Drone bases are going up all over Africa, so the multiplicity of missions will be easily accommodated.
thenewamerican

US Marines in Spain, Italy remain on heightened alert

About 500 crisis-response Marines who recently deployed to Italy and Spain are positioned to respond to the brewing chaos in Egypt.
Pentagon spokesman wouldn’t speak about Egypt or the U.S. Embassy in Cairo specifically, but said the military was postured for response in that region in particular.
stripes

La ultra rápida aeronave que transportará a los «marines» de Sevilla a África

El destacamento de 550 «marines» estadounidenses que se encuentra ya en la base aérea de Morón de la Frontera (Sevilla) para responder a cualquier crisis que acontezca en el norte de África cuenta con seis aeronaves MV-22 «Osprey» para poder transportar de modo inmediato a la fuerza de reacción rápida de EE.UU.
Además, el destacamento dispondrá de dos aviones KC 130J «Super Hercules» para su abastecimiento en vuelo o evacuación médica y poder tener así total independencia en las misiones.
Esteban Villarejo, Por Tierra Mar y Aire

550 Marines Move to Spain to Join AFRICOM

The Marine Corps will temporarily base 550 Marines as part of a rapid reaction force in Morón, Spain in support of U.S. Africa Command,

dodbuzz

AFRICOM, Mauritania discuss Mali intervention

U.S. Africa command head Gen. Carter Ham met with Mauritania’s president and an official says the two are discussing a possible military intervention, likely West African-led, in north Mali against al-Qaida-linked group members and their allies.

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