Niger Ambush Prompts Training Changes for Special Operations in Africa by John Vandiver - Stars & Stripes
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the military will modify how special operations forces are prepared for missions in Africa because of a deadly ambush by extremists last year in Niger that revealed a lack of training for troops heading into hot spots.
“On the Niger situation, we are making changes on the personnel assignment policy,” Mattis told Pentagon reporters on Tuesday. “As you know, one of the things we uncovered was some of those troops did not train together, what we thought was for a sufficiently long — long enough time.”
Mattis, who is reviewing changes recommended by U.S. Africa Command, said some new requirements have already been put into place.
An AFRICOM investigation of the October ambush, which killed four U.S. soldiers and brought intense scrutiny to a previously obscure American counterterrorism campaign, determined that the members of the Green Beret and Nigerien team known as Team Ouallam had little experience together as a unit…