British and Ivorian special operations soldiers demonstrate an assault during exercise Flintlock on April 22, 2025, in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast. In a first for Libya, the country will be included in next year's iteration of the special operations exercise, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement Oct. 14, 2025. (Zachary Wright/U.S. Air Force)
STUTTGART, Germany — Libya will be incorporated into U.S. Africa Command’s flagship special operations exercise next year, the latest American military overture to the war-torn country whose strongman leader lost power in 2011 after NATO bombing.
Libyan involvement in Flintlock 26 was announced Tuesday by AFRICOM deputy commander Lt. Gen. John Brennan, who has made recent visits to Tripoli and Sirte to meet with rival groups vying for leadership of the country.
“This exercise isn’t just about military training,” Brennan said in an AFRICOM statement. “It’s about overcoming divisions, building capacity, and supporting Libya’s sovereign right to determine its own future.”
The training site for the exercise next spring will be near the central Libyan city of Sirte, the Stuttgart-based command said.
Flintlock involves numerous countries across Africa and is largely focused on developing counterterrorism capabilities of their respective militaries.
Control of Libya is being contested by two opposing factions, an internationally recognized government in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army, which dominates much of the eastern part of the country and is backed by Russia.
“By working alongside Libyans from the west and the east, we’re directly contributing to Libyan efforts to unify their military institutions,” AFRICOM said.
It added that the participation of western and eastern Libyan forces “marks a significant step forward in … enabling strong U.S.-Libya security cooperation.”
Libya has been in disarray since a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who died in subsequent fighting that turned into a civil war.
Over the past year, the U.S. has stepped up efforts to forge closer ties with military officials in the north African country.
That outreach included visits to Tripoli and Benghazi by U.S. 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney in April, marking the first port calls by a Navy ship to the country in 56 years.
At the time, experts said the naval engagement likely was intended to send a message to China and Russia about U.S. resolve across the Mediterranean Sea, a region vital to trade and power projection.
The AFRICOM announcement comes amid political deadlock in Libya. Progress has stalled on a road map proposed in August by the United Nations for general elections over the course of the next year that would select a new unified government.
The political body in the east that is challenging the central government is backed by former warlord Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army.
Haftar was accused by Gadhafi’s regime of being a CIA asset. He returned to Libya in 2011 to lead rebel forces against the dictator.
Top U.S. military commanders and diplomats have met directly with Haftar on numerous occasions seeking to boost cooperation between rival factions.
“Flintlock 26 will be a tangible demonstration of our growing partnership with Libyan military officers in both the west and east,” Brennan said.
