United States Marine Corps Force Design 2030 omits Africa

ABSTRACT This article examines the threat analysis across Africa that should be included in Force Design 2030 (FD2030) for the United States Marine Corps. FD2030 is a strategic guidance document with emphasis on Great Power Competition with China, Russia, Korea, Iran and violent extremist organisations. Africa is not mentioned. This is a notable omission, given that high-level interventions by the Marines in the past to Africa have not been overtly successful. Given geo-strategic significances and hot spots, it is inevitable that the Marines will be deployed again landward to Africa or seaward of the continent. Recommendations are made to be included in the document based upon lessons learned from failures in Somalia, Libya and Lebanon and successes in Syria and Iraq, and the experiences of others – France in Mali and Burkina Faso and United States Africa Command. Great Power Competition, violent extremist organisations and the grey-zone phenomenon across Africa are scrutinised, as are intelligence, counterintelligence and hybrid warfare.