U.S. Service members arrive in Morocco for African Lion

AGADIR, Morocco- Approximately 650 U.S. military personnel have arrived in various regions of the Kingdom of Morocco to take part in Exercise AFRICAN LION 2009. This is an annually-scheduled, combined U.S.-Moroccan exercise designed to improve interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation’s tactics, techniques and procedures.

AFRICAN LION, a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored exercise, will include various types of military training including command post, live-fire training, peacekeeping operations, aerial refueling / low level flight training as well as a medical, dental, and veterinarian assistance projects to run concurrent with the training.

Marines from 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division will conduct a command post exercise, and various service members from the 23rd Marine Regiment will conduct bi-lateral training at the unit level, weapons qualification training and peacekeeping operations training with units from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. Marines and aircraft from the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234, Marine Aircraft Group 41, will conduct aerial refueling and low-level flight training with their counterparts in the Royal Moroccan Air Force.

Concurrent with the exercise, U.S. military professionals from the Utah Army National Guard and the 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, will provide medical, dental and veterinarian humanitarian assistance to local residents in and around the community of Taroudant.

The exercise is scheduled to end on or about June 4, 2009. All U.S. forces will return to their home bases in the United States and Germany at the conclusion of the exercise. The last AFRICA LION exercise occurred in May 2008 and involved about 1,000 Moroccan and U.S. military personnel.

Marine Corps Pfc. Dylan M. Steele {RIGHT} of Georgetown, Del., and Marine Corps Cpl. Julio M. Mazariegos of Los Angeles raise up the frame of a general purpose tent that will be part of the command post exercise.