Liberia: West African military heads meet

Military heads of dozens of West African countries and four non-West African countries have gathered in Harbel, Margibi County, Liberia, for a three-day logistical conference hosted by the US-Africa Command.

By: Emmanuel Wise Jipoh

Harbel, Margibi County, August 6, 2025: The conference dubbed 2025 West Africa Logistics Conference is being hosted by the United States Government through its US-Africa Command, in partnership with the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).

The conference, which opened on Tuesday, August 5, at the Farmington Hotel in Harbel, brings together military heads from at least 20 West African countries, including Liberia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Military chiefs from Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, and Botswana are also forming part of the history conference, the first of its kind to be hosted in Liberia.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Liberia’s Defense Minister, Brigadier General Geraldine Janet George, said the conference underscores the collective commitments of participating countries to strengthen regional security while enhancing interoperability and optimizing logistics capabilities across West Africa’s armed forces.

Minister George acknowledged security challenges facing West Africa, such as transnational threats to the marine crisis, while noting that logistics remain the backbone for effective military operations.

The Liberian Defense Minister commended visiting regional security officials while extending Liberia’s deepest appreciation for the value of partnership, preparedness, and shared expertise.

In an overview of the conference, George Dictrich, Chief of Logistics, US-Africa Command (USAFRICOM), explained that the conference will identify challenges and strengths of the region and collectively find solutions to the challenges.

“This conference is not about the United States giving out logistics or support to West Africa, but about what we can do together as a regional team to find solutions to security threats,” Dietrich said.

He said participants will brainstorm on shared understanding, and at the end, document challenges to finding an amicable solution.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, US Charge’ d’affaires Joseph E. Zadrozny described the conference as a platform for action to strengthen regional security.

Zadrozny emphasized that the US-Africa Command’s Africa Logistics Conference for West Africa is a critical milestone in a shared commitment to fostering regional stability, enhancing security, and building the foundation for sustainable economic growth across West Africa.

The US Charge ‘d’Affaires urged regional security participants to collectively share commitments to national security supply chains amidst the growing challenges, including destabilizing influence from external state and non-state actors.

He emphasized the Gulf of Guinea and vast territories such as the Sahel, which makes the regional ideas critical to sharing commitments to national security supply chains.

Zadrozny reminded participants to build stronger regional networks of like-minded nations that are committed to peace and stability, which, he said, will put West Africa in the best position to counter threats and ensure the region is a secure and prosperous place with expanded opportunity.

He, however, pledged the United States Department of State’s unwavering support for the initiative, which aligns closely with their administration’s objectives of strengthening partnerships with African nations through regional coordination and defense interoperability.

“We are enthusiastic to have several U.S. industry leaders in attendance to promote these goals through offering a range of top-quality equipment and service,” Zadrozny said.

He stressed U.S.-Africa commercial diplomacy remains a vital component of U.S. foreign policy, while adding that strengthening it will go a long way towards achieving results that benefit the entire global community.

For his part, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Major General Davidson Fayiah Forleh, highlighted the key issue of terrorism’s effects across Africa and the attack on the Marine Domain, Blue Economy, being exploited as an essential factor for hosting the conference.

Major Gen. Forleh stated that the conference will focus on a logistics approach and expertise towards fighting those challenges.

Also speaking, Amb. Robert Scott, Deputy Commander of Civil Military Engagement, describes the conference as a pivotal moment and a significant step towards logistics cooperation across West Africa.

“US-Africa marks a critical milestone as we prepare to transition in 2026 from a regional focus to a logistics approach continent-wide; this conference will set the stage,” Amb. Scott said.

Meanwhile, the theme of the 2025 West Africa Logistics Conference, Building Capacity and Logistics, emphasized the role logistics play in developing, impacting, and sustaining not only the military but also collective industries and national prosperity.

About the US-Africa Command:

The U.S. supports partners in Africa using a “3D” approach – that is “Diplomacy, Development, and Defense.” Whereas embassies use diplomacy and development to enable African governments, U.S. Africa Command helps those governments with “Defense.”

U.S. Africa Command supports African governments by helping build capacity in their armed forces, which are necessary for a government to counter violent extremists and respond to crisis.

By providing security and safety for its people, African governments can assure citizens’ access to education, work, and healthcare, among other essential services. Our support to African armed forces includes training, exercises, equipment sales, and several other security cooperation efforts to help develop militaries and build relationships. Each of these efforts emphasizes African militaries’ respect for civilian governments, the law of war, and human rights.

U.S. Africa Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of 11 U.S. Department of Defense combatant commands, each with a geographic or functional mission that provides command and control of military forces in peace and war.

U.S. Africa Command employs a broad-reaching diplomacy, development, and defense approach to foster interagency efforts and help negate the drivers of conflict and extremism in Africa. – Edited by Othello B. Garblah.