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Pentagon Recommends New Lead For U.S. Africa Command

by Cobus van Staden
Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley (center right) has been recommended to succeed to General Stephen Townsend to lead AFRICOM. Image via @USFleetForces.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin recommended Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley as the new commander of the U.S. Military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM). If formally nominated by the White House and approved by the U.S. Senate, Langley would become the first Black commander from the Marine Corps to lead AFRICOM.

Langley would replace Gen. Stephen Townsend, who is retiring. Townsend was a prominent advocate for an enhanced AFRICOM, partly aimed at countering the rise of China in Africa. He frequently mentioned the possibility of a new Chinese base in Equatorial Guinea.

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