Shanahan Closes Chapter On Investigation of Responsibility For Four Special Forces Members Killed in Niger

UPDATE

6 June 2019  Shanahan Accepts Findings in 2017 Niger Ambush of US Forces VOA

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has formally accepted the findings of an investigation into an ambush of U.S. Special Forces mission in Niger nearly two years ago that led to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien soldiers.

In a statement released early Thursday, Acting Secretary Shanahan said he was satisfied that “all findings, awards and accountability actions were thorough and appropriate” after reviewing the findings of the probe into the Oct. 4, 2017, ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo, about 200 kilometers north of the Nigerien capital of Niamey.

The final report, which was released back in May 2018, found the mission was plagued by problems throughout the chain of command, including a lack of training and proper equipment, along with a lack of preparation for the mission, when 46 U.S. and Nigerien troops set out to pursue a high-level Islamic State militant.

But the probe concluded that the joint U.S.-Nigerien forces were ultimately defeated by a large IS force that had outnumbered them 3 to 1. The siege ended after two French warplanes conducted several low flybys to scare off the IS-linked fighters, allowing rescue teams time to move in and evacuate the remaining U.S.-Nigerien forces.

Shanahan said the Pentagon’s primary concern during the investigation “has been for the families of the fallen.” He said the department has taken “corrective action” in such areas as training, risk management, field discipline and leadership.

Dec 3018 A late media flurry has the widow of a soldier, Sgt. La David Johnson, killed in Niger, Congresswoman Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson and President Trump feuding about A supposed “insensitive” statement Trump made to the widow in a message of condolence.

Trump denied making offending statements.

SecDef Mattis weighs in.

The four soldiers’ deaths in Nigeria are under investigation.

The United States has about 1,000 troops in the region who work with about 4,000 French service members. “We’re providing refueling support, intelligence support, surveillance support,” SecDef Mattis said. “But also we have troops on the ground. Their job is to help the people in the region learn how to defend themselves. We call it foreign internal defense training, and we actually do these kinds of missions by, with and through our allies.” Jim Garamone of DOD quoted Mattis.

Defense Department will make a report on the recent deaths of U.S. soldiers in Niger when it is appropriate and asked the media to not second-guess the leaders of the operation on the ground.

We in the Department of Defense like to know what we’re talking about before we talk, and so we do not have all the accurate information yet,” he said. “We will release it as rapidly as we get it because we are very proud of our troops.”

The possibility of contact with the enemy a consideration when training allied troops, the secretary said. “It is often dangerous; we recognize that,” he said. “We have been unapologetic about standing by our allies and certainly, the French, with 4,000 troops [in the region], have been engaged down there for years and have lost many, many more troops.”

One point I would make having seen some of the news reports — the U.S. military does not leave its troops behind, and I would just ask that you not question the actions of the troops who were caught in the firefight and [not] question whether or not they did everything they could in order to bring everyone out at once,” the secretary said. “And I would also ask — don’t confuse your need for accurate information with our ability to provide it immediately in a situation like this.”

BACKGROUND

Update #3: We have updated information related to the attack on U.S. and Nigerien forces that occurred on October 4th in southwest Niger. The body of another U.S. Service Member has been recovered from the area of attack, bringing the number of U.S. Service Members killed in this attack to four….Africom

Two days after DoD notified the public about the three deaths in Niger, Cheadle said that Nigerien security forces found the body of the fourth U.S. service member.

A joint patrol of about 40 soldiers searched for the soldier, who at the time was thought to be missing, until his body was found by the Nigerians, Cheadle said, adding that there was a full-court press by all of DoD, the Nigerian government, the State Department and the French allies to help recover the lost soldier.

When they found the soldier’s body, Cheadle said, “they were fully aware of the need to honor [him] and they transported the body to a location far away from the attack, where our special operations forces met them.”

The Pentagon released the names of three of the fallen soldiers. They are Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Army Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Army Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia.

Note: New updates will be posted at this link when available.

Update #2: On Oct. 4, three (3) U.S. service members and one partner nation member were killed while the U.S. was providing advice and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations, approximately 200 km north of Niamey, in southwest Niger. Additionally, two U.S. service members were injured and evacuated in stable condition to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Names are being withheld as part of the next of kin notification process.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the fallen service members.

U.S. Forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces, in their efforts to counter violent extremist organizations in the region.

Note: New updates will be posted at this link when available from Africom.mil.

For two and a half weeks, Forces Armees Nigerinnes soldiers trained with Australian, Belgium, Canadian and U.S. Special Operations Forces as a part of Exercise Flintlock 2017, which commenced on Feb. 27 and concluded March 15. The training started with individual soldiering techniques such as marksmanship, first aid, land navigation, counter-explosives training and eventually progressed into advanced platoon-level maneuvers.

These skills will be critical in the multinational fight against violent extremist organizations. When called to fight, the lessons learned at Flintlock 2017 will undoubtedly increase the combat effectiveness and survivability of the Forces Armees Nigerinnes, also known as the FAN. One thing stands out – the FAN is a willing force and every soldier takes the training seriously.

U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), or 3SFG (A), has historically been aligned to the African continent. During the Global War on Terror, 3SFG (A) was realigned to Afghanistan. The group’s area of operations shifted back to Africa where Green Berets are sharing valuable lessons learned with their partners.

“One of the biggest differences between the Afghan National Army and the FAN is that they have clear lines they draw between who they want to defend and who they identify themselves as – it’s a complete contrast from Afghanistan,” said a U.S. Special Forces medical sergeant with 3SFG (A).  “They’re motivated because they have leadership that sets good examples and they know they can succeed in an organization that gives them a better option than what they might have had.”

FAN soldiers come from across Niger. Niger has many tribal groups and some soldiers know French and some speak other languages like Hausa. By training as a unit these soldiers bonded and found common ground with each other.

“In my previous experiences training the [Afghan National Army], I’ve noticed that the FAN values your time. They show up willing and ready to train,” said a U.S. Special Forces weapons sergeant.

Officers and noncommissioned officers in the FAN play an active role during the training by pulling soldiers aside to work with them when their platoon is learning a new skill. When a FAN soldier makes a mistake, leaders professionally tell the soldier what they did wrong and show them the right way to do things.

“We gave the FAN fundamentals and concepts of implementing different types of techniques and tactic,” said a U.S. Special Forces medical sergeant. “The fact that they absorbed a good amount of the training is because they are so motivated and they have a defined enemy.

“Ultimately, it’s about trusting the soldiers to your left and right. The first day of training they seemed skeptical about each other. After training together, they built a common ground between them and they have great working relationships,” said same U.S. Special Forces medical sergeant.

You will never catch a FAN soldier sleeping on guard or a mechanic quitting before a vehicle is fixed.

VIDEO Multinational Special Operations Forces train with the Nigeriens in marksmanship, small unit tactics, and counter IED measures. Courtesy video from exercise Flintlock 2017.