Military Officer - October 2006 - (Page 49) to African governments, improve security through military training, provide humanitarian assistance, and encourage local people to turn away from extremist ideologies or from sheltering terrorists. The task force’s responsibility includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, an area twothirds the size of the continental U.S. with a population of 181 million. “Africa has great resources, great famine, and certainly governance challenges — all of which need to be engaged,” Mullen says. The Navy and Marine Corps must be key players in that part of the world because of the small “footprint” naval services can leave in a region where a heavier Western footprint “becomes less and less likely.” Plans for the future Such assignments, Mullen suggests, move the Navy toward its future of deeper engagement. And it’s not an unfamiliar role. For decades the Navy has been as ready to help other nations as to fight. “I would rather prevent a fight than have a fight,” says Mullen. “I’ve only been doing that for close to 40 years. I’ve been in countries all over the world. I’ve built schools and helped in towns and cities and villages. It’s what we do for a living. And the Navy needs to do more of it.” Helping tsunami victims in Indonesia is just exercising “the remarkable capabilities that this nation paid for,” says Mullen. “It’s not just about the bad guys. It’s about the good guys that we are trying to have relationships with.” Mullen’s view of the Navy’s future — of the U.S. military’s future — is deeper engagement on many fronts, he says. “It’s creating a secure environment so nations can grow and par- Mullen (clockwise, from top left) visits with sailors of a shock trauma platoon; takes time for socializing at Jacksonville NAS, Fla.; and arrives aboard the USNS Mercy. A sailor with an explosive ordnance disposal unit recovers an explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq. ents can raise their kids to a higher standard of living.” That, he says, is a “universal desire” of citizens in every country he has ever visited. “I can’t stay 500 miles at sea and be much a part of that world,” he said. Mullen’s vision is that ships and sailors be more proactive in building relationships with other nations, in providing “cities at sea” in times of disaster, in sharing resources and sailors’ talents with Third World nations to deepen their trust in America, and in forming new operational alliances to build a global network of maritime security. MO OCTOBER 2006 PHOTOS: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, SGT. FERNANDO FRIAS JR., USMC/USN; PHOTOGRAPHER’S MATE 2ND CLASS ANDREA DECANINI, USN; CHIEF MASS COMMUNICATION SPC. EDWARD G. MARTENS, USN; PHOTOGRAPHER’S MATE 1ST CLASS BART A. BAUER, USN MILITARY OFFICER 49
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