SETAF’s name expands with new Africa mission

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SETAF’s name expands with new Africa mission
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Southern European Task Force has a new name to go with its new mission.

SETAF, which has operated in Italy since 1955, is now also calling itself U.S. Army Africa. Maj. Gen. William Garrett, the SETAF commander, used both names in an address to his troops that was recently posted on the command’s Web site. SETAF was officially designated the Army component of U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, the newest major command, in December.

Col. Stephen Mariano, chief of strategic plans, policies and assessment, said the change in mission means that SETAF has gone from a rapidly deployable command headquarters to an organization that oversees Army operations in Africa.

"Our insertion of the U.S. Army Africa after (SETAF) is just to acknowledge the change," he said.

He said Garrett and other members of the command still have roles to play in Italy, though, and he doesn’t believe the SETAF designation is going away "any time soon."


Rest of Africom article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60169