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# The U.S. Military Academy and the Africa Military Education Program

## Details

**Authors** Morales R, Hughes DW, Krueger C, Newell D, Showman B, Brend J

**Year** 2021

**Publisher** Military Review

**Kind of work** article

**Discipline** Military

**Kind of engagement** applications

[Read it](https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/May-June-2021/Brend-Africa-Mil-Ed/)

## In authors' words

### Abstract

[No abstract published; opening paragraphs plus the article's systems-thinking passage, retrieved verbatim] Although Niger ranks among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, assistance from the United States and other partners has helped this landlocked nation maintain itself as an oasis of stability in a volatile region. This type of partnership, one of collaborative effort, works only if both parties are vested in the outcome. In its 2017 report on Niger and Boko Haram, the International Crisis Group urged that "Niger's partners, who encouraged it to take action against Boko Haram, must also provide practical assistance so that it is better able to deal with the threat." The United States Military Academy (USMA) partnership with the Ecole de Formation des Forces Armees Nigeriennes (Nigerien Armed Forces Training School, or EFOFAN) through the Africa Military Education Program (AMEP) is an effort to provide this practical - and much appreciated - assistance. From the onset, it is important to understand why AMEP exists and how it is executed. AMEP is a Department of State, Title 22-funded program designed to strengthen professional military education across the African continent by providing our African partners with faculty and/or curriculum development. While funded by the State Department, the Department of Defense is responsible for executing AMEP, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense designated this responsibility to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS). One of the Defense Department's five regional centers established and funded by Congress, the Africa Center's mission is "to advance African security by expanding understanding, providing a trusted platform for dialogue, building enduring partnerships, and catalyzing strategic solutions." While the Africa Center's mission makes it a sound choice to oversee AMEP, ACSS is not manned to execute the program. As a result, AMEP has historically relied on a volunteer model to execute its mission. In the case of Niger, since EFOFAN is a military academy, ACSS coordinated with USMA to designate a volunteer to serve as the academic lead to execute the program. Ideally, an AMEP program will be completed within twenty-four to thirty-six months. [...] Another systems technique is the distinctions, system, relationships, and perspectives technique created and endorsed by Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera at Cornell University. Using this structured approach, systems thinkers place the problem in the context of its environment and also acknowledge that each stakeholder has a different perspective as to what the problem is and how it affects them.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

A Military Review account of the U.S. Military Academy's partnership with Niger's armed forces training school through the Africa Military Education Program, whose curriculum work draws on systems techniques including DSRP.

### What they found (results)

Collaborative partnership works only if both parties are vested in the outcome; AMEP's faculty and curriculum development is the practical assistance Niger's partners were urged to provide.

## Commentary

### In short

Article in Military Review.

**Patterns it shows** P

**How to cite this** Morales R, Hughes DW, Krueger C, Newell D, Showman B, Brend J (2021). The U.S. Military Academy and the Africa Military Education Program. Military Review.