General Carter F. Ham, the outgoing head of the U.S. Africa Command, speaks at Howard University's Ralph Bunch International Affairs Center.
Gen. Ham will discuss the command's mission in the light of the growing terrorist threat in North Africa. In a recent talk at George Washington University, the General described the U.S. counterterrorism role in Africa and in particular, efforts to dislodge al Qaeda from Northern Mali.
Last week, an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Algeria kidnapped Western petroleum workers, including a number of Americans, in response to French and U.S. military support for the Mali government. A number of the workers were killed in attempts to rescue them.
Gen. Ham will likely discuss the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
In October, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the nomination of General David Rodriquez to replace Ham, who took charge of U.S. Africa Command in March 2011.