African Lion 21 exercise begins with 7,800 troops in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal

African Lion 2025 (AL25) officially opened May 4 at the Centre d’Entraînement Tactique 2 (CET2) training area here, marking the start of the Senegalese portion of U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual combined joint exercise.

In the fast-paced and often unpredictable world of military operations, U.S. service members are frequently mobilized across the globe to support exercises, conflicts and peacekeeping missions. These assignments come with unique challenges, and sometimes, life threatening emergencies.

During Exercise African Lion 2025, units from the U.S. Army’s 807th Theater Medical Command played a crucial role in health care operations alongside Tunisian Armed Forces. Key contributors included the 409th Medical Company Area Support, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based in Madison, Wisconsin; the 903rd Medical Detachment Preventive Medicine, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based in Machesney Park, Illinois; and the 172nd Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 44th Medical Brigade. These units provided essential services such as sick-call operations, casualty movement, preventive medicine, veterinary inspections and academics, and behavioral health classes across multiple training sites in Tunisia. Soldiers from the 807th also led knowledge exchanges with Tunisian counterparts, strengthening partnerships and enhancing joint operational medical readiness in a challenging environment.