This review has been submitted to the Canadian Army Journal
Title: Composite Warfare: The Conduct of Successful Ground Force Operations in Africa
Author:
Eeben Barlow
ISBN:
978-1-92821-176-1
Publisher:
30 Degrees South
Year:
2016
Softcover
Pages: 534
Photos:
100’s
Africa
is in many respects a little understood continent; specifically with respect to
armed conflict, the causes thereof and the methodology of effectively
combatting them, this is even more acute. Without having experienced life in
the Dark Continent and its nuances, it is difficult to appreciate its myriad of
challenges relating to operations. Notwithstanding this, Barlow has produced a
book that goes a long way towards providing the reader with a comprehensive
analysis of not only the unique facets of operating in Africa but also the
nature of political, economic and military interface that colours African
engagement. Having operated as a member of the SADF (South African Defence
Force) in command and special operations capacities, a founding member and commander
of Executive Outcome and advisor to many African Governments on doctrine and
policy, the author is uniquely qualified to discuss the African operating
environment.
This is
not a book to read once and put away; indeed such is the breadth of knowledge
that there are lessons to be gleaned with each successive engagement. He
combines a straight forward analytical style with a deep bibliography and first
hand examples that round out his narrative and give credence to his hypothesis.
For the Western professional operative, there will be elements of the book that
are well known; but many aspects of the book will be very useful to
understanding the driving motivators of African leadership and soldiery (either
symmetric or asymmetric).
In
order to fully appreciate the value of Barlow’s work, it must be remembered who
is the intended audience for this work. Primarily this will be African
Government forces and perhaps those para and non-traditional elements operating
within the African continent. For this reason the book entails a broad cross
section of vertical and horizontal instruction. There is information contained
in the work for all; it is easy for a Western power to dismiss some of the
information provided as too basic and, by extension, the entire work. It must
be remembered however, that the African theatre of operations is dramatically
different North to South and East to West and Barlow’s work undertakes an
analysis of the unique aspects of operations reflective of the different
environments.
One of
the more consistent and challenging aspects of African conflicts are the
prevalence of asymmetric conflicts that may run independent or concurrent to
more traditional operations. The author dedicates a significant amount of the
book discussing the unique nature of African asymmetric conflict; its
underlying causes, the variety of environment both physical and societal and
the tools and training critical to be effective. The information that he
presents is insightful and very relevant; especially when discussing the nature
of inter-service and international joint operations. It is worth noting
however, that support elements are not discussed in any real depth in the book.
This is disappointing as logistics represents a key element of success and
Africa represents a particularly hostile environment for support.
