USARAF trains Nigerian Ranger Battalion for full spectrum operations
For the first time, U.S. Army personnel will travel to Africa to train a Nigerian Ranger Battalion for decisive action, meaning the training they receive will help the Nigerian Army counter a real threat within their country.
Normally, USARAF partners and trains battalions to go on peace keeping missions for the UN, but at the request of the Nigerian government, they along with a mix of Special Forces and general purpose forces from the National Guard and active duty are all coming together to provide full-spectrum operational training for the 650-man ranger battalion.
"What we're doing with the Nigerian Army is helping them take a ranger battalion that already exists and provide infantry skills to enable them to go counter a threat within their country, and it is not peacekeeping -- it is every bit of what we call decisive action, meaning those soldiers will go in harm's way to conduct counter insurgency operations in their country to defeat a known threat, and it's all purely funded by the Nigerians," said Col. John D. Ruffing, chief of USARAF's Security Cooperation Division. "So, they asked us for assistance, and we tailored a package that we agreed on and they influenced and help us put in parameters to work with."
In September 2013, Maj. Liam Connor, West Africa Desk Officer escorted the Nigerian Directorate of Training to the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga.
http://www.army.mil/article/125703/USARAF_trains_Nigerian_Ranger_Battalion_for_full_spectrum_operations/?from=RSS