US army to increase training missions following Niger loss

General Mark Milley made the comments at the Association of the army’s annual meeting in Washington on Monday, not long after four special operations commandos were ambushed to death by militants in the Western African country of Niger.

The army’s chief of staff did not mention who was responsible for the attack although he asserted that the US military does know the group.

“We are training, advising and assisting indigenous armies all over the world,” Milley stated. “And I anticipate and expect that’ll increase, not decrease, in years to come.”

Two other Green Berets were injured on the October 4 ambush near the Nigerien capital Niamey by militants said to be linked with the Daesh Takfiri group in Iraq and Syria.

“It is a dangerous mission, TAA missions around the world. It depends on where you are at,” Milley said, announcing that a new unit is being developed for such missions.

It will be made up of six “Security Force Assistance Brigades,” which will include 500 non-commissioned and senior officers with “Ranger-like standards.”

“They will look and act, in many ways, and be trained similar to Special Forces, but they are not Special Forces,” Milley asserted.

The US Africa Command “is reviewing very closely the security procedures that they are using for these teams that are there in Africa,” he added.

The US military leaders are expanding Washington’s military presence, arguing that they need to be able to act more quickly against purported enemies amid vows by President Donald Trump to defeat the Daesh terrorists.

The US and some of its regional allies are themselves implicated in support for the Takfiri terrorists.

KD