Rapid Strike On Smuggling Ship Off Africa Highlights Increased Authorities Given To Commanders
23rd April 2025
When an unflagged vessel smuggling advanced arms to the al-Shabaab jihadi group was spotted in the waters off Somalia last week, there was no time to send a boarding party to interdict it, a U.S. defense official told The War Zone Tuesday morning. So, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) made a rare decision, calling in an airstrike. The ability to do so was, in large measure, made possible by new authorities given to commanders to act, the official told us. This is meant to speed up critical kill chains and increase the effectiveness of the force that has to keep ahead of enemies on a fast-moving modern battlefield. But even with the clear benefits of increased authorities down the chain of command and forward in the field, there can be added risks.
“This was a time-sensitive issue,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. “They have to do things quickly. They did not have time to pull in boats.”
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted airstrikes against advanced conventional weapons aboard a flagless vessel and a smaller supporting vessel inside Somalia territorial waters on April 16, 2025,” the command announced. “The weapons were en route to al Shabaab terrorists inside Somalia and posed an imminent threat to partner and U.S. forces in Somalia. AFRICOM’s initial assessment is that no civilians were harmed.”
This is a positive change. One of the constant drags on U.S. military operations, present since the Viet Nam debacle, is constant micro-management of military operations by political operatives, exacerbated by modern telecommunications. Trump and his appointees bring refreshing self-awareness to this situation, setting policy and allowing military commanders the freedom to exercise their professional competence in effecting that policy, something no Democrat President has ever (since Wilson) been able to do.