A year ago, President Bush directed the U.S. military to establish a
new combatant command (COCOM), in Africa to promote U.S. national
security objectives by working with African nations and regional organizations to strengthen the region’s stability.
Recognizing the strategic and economic importance of Africa, the U.S.
Africa Command (AFRICOM) will focus on building the capacity of the U.S.’s African partners to
reduce
conflict, improve security, defeat terrorists and support crisis
response. AFRICOM’s area of responsibility (AOR) will include
all
African nations except Egypt, plus the islands surrounding Africa
– an area including about 35 percent of the world’s
land
mass and 25 percent of its population.
AOR was previously divided among three combatant commands, including
the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
and the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) – a division that Secretary
of
Defense Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee was,
“an outdated arrangement left over from the Cold
War.”
Rear
Adm. Robert Moeller, head of the AFRICOM transition team, said AFRICOM
will establish full operational capability (FOC) at Kelley Barracks in
Stuttgart, Germany by October, 2008. Assisting the AFRICOM transition
team in capturing its requirements for command center information
systems at Kelley Barracks is the Theater Systems Integration
Office-Europe (TSIO-E), part of the Project Manager, Defense
Communications and Army Transmission Systems’ (PM DCATS)
Command
Center Upgrades/Special Projects Office (CCU/SPO).
TSIO-E is working with the AFRICOM transition team to help them through
the steps toward achieving their own command center information system
capability. TSIO-E is helping AFRICOM staffers define and structure
requirements for both the near-term, as well as future growth
opportunities. Much of the requirements analysis, including mission
refinement and extrapolation of sub-elements, is being completed by
TSIO-E.
Rear
Adm. Robert Moeller, head of the AFRICOM transition team, said AFRICOM
will establish full operational capability (FOC) at Kelley Barracks in
Stuttgart, Germany by October, 2008. Assisting the AFRICOM transition
team in capturing its requirements for command center information
systems at Kelley Barracks is the Theater Systems Integration
Office-Europe (TSIO-E), part of the Project Manager, Defense
Communications and Army Transmission Systems’ (PM DCATS)
Command
Center Upgrades/Special Projects Office (CCU/SPO). 
