A US Army brigade will begin sending small teams into as many as 35 African nations early in 2013, part of an intensifying Penta-gon effort to train countries to battle extremists and give the US a ready and trained force to dispatch to Africa if crises requiring the US military emerge.
The teams will be limited to training and equipping efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without specific, additional approvals. The focus on Africa by the US comes against widespread insurgent violence across North Africa.