Key Facts
- Start date
- 2002
- CJTF-HOA personnel
- ~2,000 servicemen and women
- Area of responsibility
- Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Seychelles, Kenya
- Command transfer
- U.S. Africa Command assumed control in October 2008
- Primary combat tools
- Drone strikes, manned airstrikes, cruise missiles, special forces raids
Strategic Narrative Overview
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) was established with its headquarters initially aboard USS Mount Whitney. Its original mandate targeted fleeing takfiri militants from Afghanistan, but U.S. forces became progressively drawn into the Somali Civil War. Operations expanded to include drone strikes against Al-Shabaab, manned airstrikes, cruise missile strikes, and special forces raids, with the naval component, Combined Task Force 150, operating under U.S. Fifth Fleet.
01 / The Origins
Following the Fall of Kabul in late 2001, U.S. Defense planners feared Islamist militants fleeing Afghanistan would regroup in East Africa or the Arabian Peninsula. U.S. Central Command already held responsibility for Yemen, but the Arabian Sea crossing to East Africa represented a gap. To address this, II Marine Expeditionary Force was directed to establish a task force covering Yemen and East Africa, operating out of Djibouti, a former French colony.
03 / The Outcome
In February 2007, President George W. Bush announced the creation of U.S. Africa Command, which absorbed CJTF-HOA's area of operations in October 2008, shifting the mission out of U.S. Central Command. The operation remains ongoing, with no formal conclusion declared. The U.S. continues counterterrorism activities across the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions, including Mauritius, Comoros, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Liberia.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent