Special Operations Forces Kick Off International Exercise in the Sahel, the ‘Tinderbox of Terrorist Activity’ by Diana Stancy Correll - Military Times
Since violent extremist organizations utilize similar tactics and techniques, the ability to share intelligence among partner nations in Africa is absolutely critical, according to the commander of Special Operations Command Africa.
That’s why the U.S. and 30 other countries will have an opportunity to hone their intelligence-sharing skills at Flintlock, an annual military exercise that gets underway Feb. 17.
“In order to share intelligence, in order to have that you’ve got to build the trust,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson told reporters on Feb. 13. “To build the trust, you have to create a relationship. So I think that’s ultimately what Flintlock does: it brings people together in order to talk and communicate, to build that relationship that creates trust.”
Altogether, more than 1,600 troops from more than 30 countries are participating in the exercise, including Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Niger, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, among others…