Scathing reports find military failures in 2020 Kenya attack that left soldier, two others dead
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press
Mar 10, 01:39 PM
U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division rearrange sandbags on a guard tower at Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2020. The soldiers were dispatched to help secure the airfield after the fatal attack days earlier. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn White)
Military investigations have found poor leadership, inadequate training and a “culture of complacency” among U.S. forces undermined efforts to fend off a 2020 attack by militants in Kenya that killed three Americans, U.S. officials familiar with the probes told The Associated Press ahead of the release of the findings, expected Thursday.
Two military reviews of the attack by al-Shabab militants are scathing in their conclusions that there were failures across the board at the Manda Bay air base, where senior military leaders said there was a “deeply rooted culture of a false sense of security.” The attack also wounded three people and destroyed six aircraft.
Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command, which did the first review, told the AP that while the actions of no one person caused the attack or the casualties, the reviews concluded that security, intelligence, training and command failures contributed to the losses.
https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2022/03/10/scathing-reports-find-military-failures-in-2020-kenya-attack/
