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STUTTGART, Germany, 

Aug 21, 2012 — In response to a recent newspaper article in Botswana, U.S. Africa Command's commanding officer, Gen. Carter Ham, once again denied reports that the United States is seeking to establish a base or move the command's headquarters to Botswana or anywhere else on the continent.

"No, there is no American base in Botswana. There are no plans whatsoever to have a base in Botswana," said Ham. "I see these reports where people talk about an American base, but there is no base and there are no plans for an American base. I cannot be clearer than that."

The United States has only one base on the African continent, Camp Lemonnier, located in Djibouti, Africa. Currently, there are approximately 5,000 U.S. service members in Africa, the majority at Camp Lemonnier, with the remainder serving on a temporary basis ranging from a few days to a few weeks across the continent.

U.S. service members working in Africa are there at their host nation's invitation.