TRANSCRIPT: Ward Outlines AFRICOM Vision - 'Active Security' and Partnerships to Prevent Conflict, U.S. Africa Command PAO, February 18, 2008

The work of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) will be based on programs and international partnerships aimed at helping African nations and regional organizations prevent future conflict, General William "Kip" Ward, AFRICOM commander, said February 18 at a London defense conference, where he outlined his vision for the command and a concept he calls "active security." Africa Command, he stressed, will not take the place of civilian and nongovernmental programs on the continent but will seek to collaborate with others. Ward delivered the keynote address at a U.S.-Africa relations conference hosted by the Royal United Services Institute. "AFRICOM recognizes the essential interrelationship between security, stability, economic development, political advancement, things that address the basic needs of the peoples of a region," Ward said. "Active security," he explained, means "activities that we do on a sustained basis that help lead to stability in a country, in a region. ... We want to improve our ability to provide what we're asked to do in support of our friends, and in so doing help build their security capacity." U.S. Africa Command is being created in Stuttgart, Germany, and will have a staff of approximately 1,300 personnel, including 665 civilian personnel and 639 military personnel, Ward said. The staff is currently about 400 personnel.