General Stephen Townsend, the Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), completed his East African tour on August 2.
While in East Africa, Gen. Towsend visited Somalia and Djibouti. He also traveled to Kenya and Tanzania to meet with top government and military officials.
The United States has multiple strategic security and development interests in the region.
AFRICOM continues serving in the region to protect the US interests, which are constantly under threat of attack from Al-Shabaab militants.