February 3 Digital Press Briefing with the Commander, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army General Stephen J. Townsend
EVENT: Please join us on Thursday, February 3, 2022, for a digital press briefing with the Commander, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army General Stephen J. Townsend. The press briefing follows the 2022 African Chiefs of Defense Conference, which is themed “Shared Investment for a Shared Future.”
DETAILS:
Speaker: U.S. Army General Stephen J. Townsend
Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Time: 13:30 Johannesburg | 11:30 GMT | 06:30 New York
Language: English. Simultaneous French interpretation will be provided.
Ground rules: The briefing will be on the record.
Login info: To be provided upon RSVP.
RSVP: Please RSVP by clicking here
Twitter: Follow the conversation at #AFHubPress for the call. Follow us on @AfricaMediaHub.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY:
Gen. Stephen Townsend, U.S. Army, became the 5th commander of U.S. Africa Command in July 2019. Townsend’s previous assignment was commanding U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command where he oversaw all recruitment, training and education for the U.S. Army.
From Griffin, Georgia, Townsend was commissioned as an U.S. Army infantry officer upon graduation from North Georgia College in 1982. He has led and commanded troops at every echelon from rifle platoon to infantry division and U.S. Army corps as well as two combined/joint task forces.
Townsend’s operational experience includes Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada; Operation Just Cause, Panama; Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti; Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq. In 2016-17, he led the multi-national effort to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve.
His career includes service with four U.S. Army divisions, the 82d Airborne, 7th Light Infantry, 101st Air Assault and the 10th Mountain; the 75th Ranger Regiment; the separate 3d Stryker Brigade, 2d Infantry Division; as well as command of the XVIIIth Airborne Corps. His past joint duty assignments include U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Central Command, the Joint Staff, Regional Command-East in Afghanistan and Combined/Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
Townsend holds two master’s degrees and military qualifications and awards appropriate to his service as a career infantry officer.
LOGISTICS:
- Participants should log in to join the conference 10 minutes early.
- Participants will be asked to type in their name, press affiliation, and location.
- The speaker will give brief opening remarks, and then the moderator will open the floor to questions.
- Participants will be instructed to type their questions or indicate to the moderator in the chat that they wish to ask a live question. Journalists may also submit written questions in advance when registering on Eventbrite or via e-mail to afmediahub@state.gov.
- If you experience technical difficulties during the briefing, you may send an e-mail to afmediahub@state.gov to alert the moderator to any issues.
Distributed by African Media Agency on behalf of Africa Media Hub.
