# The United States military in Somalia: AFRICOM, Baledogle and Danab > The US military in Somalia since 2007: Africa Command, the Baledogle airfield, the Danab brigade it trains, troop numbers, the 2020 withdrawal and 2022 return, and the 2024 bases agreement. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/us-military-in-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short The United States has had three kinds of military role in Somalia: the UN-backed intervention of 1992–1994, air strikes since 2007, and training and advising the Somali army's Danab commandos since 2013–14. Its forces in Africa come under US Africa Command (AFRICOM). This page covers the training mission, bases and troop numbers. The strikes are covered in [US air strikes in Somalia](/en/history/us-air-strikes-in-somalia/), and the 1990s in [The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/) and [The Battle of Mogadishu, 1993](/en/history/battle-of-mogadishu-1993/). It is part of [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/). ## Danab, from 2013 Danab ("lightning") is a commando unit of the [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/), based at Baledogle airfield in [Lower Shabelle](/en/infrastructure/k50-airstrip/). Wikipedia records that its first company of 150 recruits began training in October 2013 under Bancroft Global Development, a US private firm, with costs paid by the AU mission and reimbursed by the US State Department, and that the aim was a unit drawn from all clans ([Wikipedia, Danab Brigade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danab_Brigade), citing [Hiiraan Online](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/), February 2014, and VOA, July 2014). In 2017 the two governments set a target of 3,000 Danab personnel. In February 2024 the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, said the force would reach that target "within several months" and was taking on more of its own recruiting and training ([VOA, 15 February 2024](https://www.voanews.com/a/7489376.html)). In May 2017 a US Navy SEAL was killed during a raid with Danab forces at Barii, about 40 miles west of Mogadishu, the first US combat death in Somalia since 1993 (Wikipedia, citing Reuters, 5 May 2017). ## Baledogle In 2017 Al Jazeera described the US presence in Somalia as unacknowledged by Washington, but including a large site at Baledogle airfield ([Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/turkey-sets-largest-overseas-army-base-somalia-171001073820818.html)). Wikipedia records that US special operations forces and contractors repaired and expanded the barracks there for Danab (Wikipedia, Danab Brigade). ## Troop numbers: withdrawal and return - **December 2020–January 2021.** President Trump ordered the withdrawal of about 700 US troops. Forces were then rotated in and out from elsewhere in East Africa. The AFRICOM commander, General Stephen Townsend, told Congress in March 2022 that the rotations amounted to "commuting to work" and that "we are marching in place at best" ([PBS NewsHour, AP, 16 May 2022](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/biden-acts-to-deploy-u-s-troops-to-somalia-reversing-trumps-ordered-withdrawal)). - **May 2022.** President Biden signed an order on 16 May 2022 to station a "small, persistent" force in Somalia again, drawn from elsewhere in Africa. The White House gave the number as under 500; *The New York Times* reported a cap of about 450, and that Biden also approved standing authority to target about a dozen suspected al-Shabaab leaders (PBS NewsHour, 2022). ## The five bases agreement, 2024 On 15 February 2024 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding under which the US would build up to five bases for Danab. President [Hassan Sheikh Mohamud](/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mohamud/) presided; Defence Minister [Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur](/en/people/abdulkadir-mohamed-nur/) and the US chargé d'affaires signed. Phee said Danab's reliance on "temporary, often inadequate" camps hampered its readiness, and that the Somali army should eventually run the bases ([VOA, 15 February 2024](https://www.voanews.com/a/7489376.html)). Somali reports named the locations as Baidoa, Dhusamareb, Jowhar, Kismayo and Mogadishu, and one put the value at over US$100 million ([Dawan Africa, February 2024](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-us-sign-dollar100-million-mou-for-construction-of-military-bases-to-strengthen-danab-brigade)). ## Air support US forces direct air strikes when Danab units are in contact with al-Shabaab, according to Wikipedia. The number and record of strikes, and Amnesty International's findings on civilian deaths, are set out in [US air strikes in Somalia](/en/history/us-air-strikes-in-somalia/). Al-Qaeda's earlier East Africa cell, including the 1998 embassy bombings and the 2009 and 2011 killings of its leaders in Somalia, is covered in [Al-Qaeda's East Africa cell and Somalia, 1998 to 2011](/en/history/al-qaeda-east-africa-cell-somalia/). ## Sources differ - **When Danab began.** Training began in October 2013 and the first graduates finished in February 2014 (Wikipedia); some reports date the unit to the 2017 agreement on 3,000 personnel. - **Troops in 2022.** "Under 500" (White House) or about 450 (*The New York Times*). - **Value of the 2024 bases deal.** Over US$100 million in one Somali report; the US did not give a figure. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Voice of America, "US, Somalia sign deal to build military bases" (15 February 2024): [article](https://www.voanews.com/a/7489376.html). - PBS NewsHour (AP), "Biden acts to deploy U.S. troops to Somalia, reversing Trump's ordered withdrawal" (2022): [article](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/biden-acts-to-deploy-u-s-troops-to-somalia-reversing-trumps-ordered-withdrawal). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. 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