Engagement Techniques in Sub-Saharan Africa

During a staff meeting at United States European Command (USEUCOM), while General James L. Jones was the USEUCOM commander, he said "Engineers are the maneuver force for Phase Zero operations." In this paper, I will argue why engineers should be the main effort in sub-Saharan Africa during Phase Zero operations and discuss why religious extremism is attractive to poor impoverished countries, specifically the rural areas, and how this affects operations and planning in accordance with the National Defense Strategy. The researcher will explore the number of missions that engineers have done in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last four years versus the need for these missions. The researcher argues that engineers cannot be the maneuver force during Phase Zero operations in SSA because AFRICOM has not created the proper programs to enable engineers to get into theater, and it does not possess the structure within its organization to take on this task. AFRICOM does have regional engineers; however, it is not able to conduct complex operations. The researcher will look at the availability of engineers that can be utilized and the available methods that military engineers could utilize to get into the sub-Saharan countries under the guidance of the Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) and Service Component Command (ASCC). The researcher will (a) look at the alternatives to not using military engineers and maintain the status quo; (b) explore what can happen when military engineers and the GOTUS invest in people; and, (c) determine how it correlates to the National Defense Strategy (NDS). The underlying issue is the question why religious extremism attractive.