Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 59

AFRICOM QUEEN

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Support humanitarian
and disaster response
Counter illicit flows [of
terrorists, people, narcotics, and
arms] 20
Counter violent extremist
organizations. Many readers are acquainted with examples of insurgent
groups threatening U.S. and partner
interests in Africa. For example,
insurgencies in Libya, Somalia, Mali,
and Nigeria have demonstrated that
weak or failing governments with
inadequate military capacity can enable the rise of jihadi organizations.
One less-known African insurgent
group is the Lord’s Resistance Army.
This group “abducted at least 66,000
[Ugandan] children and youth
between 1986 and 2005” and displaced almost two million people in
Northern Uganda; the Department
of State calls it “one of Africa’s oldest,
most violent, and persistent armed
groups.”21 The Lord’s Resistance
Army originated in Uganda in 1986
and operated there until it was
pushed west into the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and the
Central African Republic (and eventually the Republic of South Sudan),
where, as of 2011, more than 465,000
people were displaced or living as
refugees.22 The horrors of genocidal
killing in Rwanda two decades ago
as well as Sudan’s ongoing Darfur
killings are reminders that ethnic hatreds are a potent threat to stability.
Modularized auxiliary cruisers
with combat and support mission
packages could carry out an array
of direct counterterrorism missions against groups like the Lord’s
Resistance Army, such as air
strikes (manned and unmanned),
Special Forces direct action,
and advising for local forces. In

(Photo courtesy of Military Sealift Command, U.S. Navy)

USNS Spearhead during sea trials, 19 April 2012.

USNS Spearhead
In December 2012, the Navy placed its first joint high-speed vessel ( JHSV) in
service: USNS Spearhead. In 2014, the Spearhead, which was named by the Army,
“conducted its maiden operational deployment to Europe and Africa and … [supported] U.S. Southern Command,” according to U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command.
Designed for rapid intrat heater transport of troops and military equipment, “the
JHSV is showing a broader range of applications such as logistical support, counter-trafficking, and medical operations in support of larger platforms such as amphibious assault ships,” according to a report by Kris Osborn in June 2015.
Now renamed expeditionary fast transports (EPFs), the 338-foot-long aluminum
catamarans are designed to be fast, flexible, and maneuverable even in shallow
waters or austere ports. Per Osborn, “while the JHSV is not expected to perform
combat missions, it could be used to rapidly resupply special operations forces in
some instances.” In March 2015, the Spearhead supported “a large-scale multinational exercise off the coast of Africa … called Obangame Express 2015.” Based on the
platform’s performance in Obangame Express and other exercises around the world,
“the Navy is looking at using the JHSV more frequently with an emerging platform
called the mobile landing platform, or MLP. Using a commercial tanker as a base
platform, the MLP can launch and recover landing craft air cushions [hovercraft] and
is engineered for a wide range of ship-to-shore operations.” The vessels operate
with civilian crews.
As of March 2016, the Navy’s ship inventory includes six EPFs, with five more
planned. Originally, five ships were to be assigned to the Army, but the services
agreed to transfer all to the Navy.
Sources
U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC), “MSC 2014 in Review,” MSC website, September 2014,
accessed 17 March 2016, http://www.msc.navy.mil/annualreport/2014/pm5.htm; Jessica F. Alexander, “USNS
Spearhead: Fast, Flexible, First in Class,” MSC website, accessed 17 March 2016, http://www.msc.navy.mil/
sealift/2013/March/spearhead.htm.
Kris Osborn, “Navy Sees Broader Role for Joint High-Speed Vessel,” DOD Buzz Online Defense and
Acquisition Journal, 29 June 2015, accessed 17 March 2016, http://www.dodbuzz.com/2015/06/29/
navy-sees-broader-role-for-joint-high-speed-vessel/.
U.S. Navy Fact File, “Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF),” www.navy.mil, 16 January 2016, accessed

MILITARY REVIEW  May-June 2016

17 March 2016, http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1100&ct=4.

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