Mission in Niger is One Special Forces Have Engaged in ‘Since JFK’ by Shawn Snow - Military Times
The deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger in an early October ambush has cast a spotlight on a once-obscure mission in the West African nation. Reports indicating U.S. and Nigerien forces were surveilling an Islamic State recruiter when they were ambushed has renewed questions about the scope of the U.S. operation.
However, the public speculation is partially due to a misperception of what Special Forces soldiers do in train, advise and assist missions, according to one former U.S. special operations soldier with several years of experience operating in the Sahel region of Africa.
“We aren’t trying to run a covert war there — that is not what is going on,” the former operator told Military Times on the condition of anonymity. “The scope of this is what may seem a little weird to people.”
Reports over the last several weeks have focused on questions of whether U.S. troops in the region are properly equipped, if air support is readily available and whether wounded troops can be evacuated within the Defense Department’s mandated “golden hour.”
Though it is rare for U.S. personnel to be encounter combat in Niger, the mission nevertheless comes with its own dangers and hazards, the former operator said…