African Lion 22 begins in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana
2:53 PM6/9/2022
A Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels with a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft over Morocco during Exercise African Lion 2021, June 15, 2021. Conducting air refueling training with our partners is critical because the capability provides a “bridge” that allows the expeditionary Air Force to deploy around the globe at a moment’s notice.
African Lion is U.S. Africa Command's largest, premier, joint, annual exercise hosted by Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, 7-18 June. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. African Lion is a multi-domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph Barron)
African Lion 22 begins in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana
2:53 PM6/9/2022
African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest and premier annual exercise, involving more than 7,500 service members from June 6 - 30. Led by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, AFRICAN LION 22 will execute in four countries: Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. Militaries from Brazil, Chad, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom will join U.S. and host nation troops. U.S. participants come from all service components, including the Reserves and National Guard. AFRICAN LION 22 features a Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters command post exercise; a combined arms live fire exercise; a maritime exercise; an air exercise with U.S. C-130J Super Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and bomber aircraft; a joint forcible entry with paratroopers into a field training exercise; a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response exercise; and a humanitarian civic assistance program event. The exercise sets the theater for access and bolsters interoperability among partner nations. The exercise also involved months of collaboration between all participating countries to ensure proper COVID-19 mitigation protocols are set in place and adhered to. (Illustration by Sgt. 1st Class Xavier Rosario)
African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest and premier annual exercise, involving more than 7,500 service members from June 6 - 30. Led by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, AFRICAN LION 22 will execute in four countries: Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. Militaries from Brazil, Chad, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom will join U.S. and host nation troops. U.S. participants come from all service components, including the Reserves and National Guard. AFRICAN LION 22 features a Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters command post exercise; a combined arms live fire exercise; a maritime exercise; an air exercise with U.S. C-130J Super Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and bomber aircraft; a joint forcible entry with paratroopers into a field training exercise; a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response exercise; and a humanitarian civic assistance program event. The exercise sets the theater for access and bolsters interoperability among partner nations. The exercise also involved months of collaboration between all participating countries to ensure proper COVID-19 mitigation protocols are set in place and adhered to.
African Lion 22 begins, runs June 6-30 in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ghana
2:53 PM6/9/2022
African Lion 22 features a joint task force command post exercise, a combined arms live fire exercise, a maritime exercise, an air exercise including bomber aircraft, a joint forcible entry with paratroopers into a field training exercise, a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response exercise, and a humanitarian civic assistance program event.
Center, CW3 Alfredo Moran assigned to 839th Transportation Battalion, commander for loading operations, gives a safety briefing before loading operations. Logisticians from multiple Southern European Task Force -Africa units including the 839th Transportation Battalion, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade, and the 23rd Modular Ordnance Ammunition Company all worked together at the Port of Livorno, Italy to upload the Military Sealift Command Vessel, USNS Yuma. The equipment will transit from locations across Europe to Agadir, Morocco as part of exercise African Lion 22, Livorno, Italy, May 29, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Elena Baladelli)
Logisticians from multiple Southern European Task Force -Africa units including the 839th Transportation Battalion, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade, and the 23rd Modular Ordnance Ammunition Company all worked together at the Port of Livorno, Italy to upload the Military Sealift Command Vessel, USNS Yuma. The equipment will transit from locations across Europe to Agadir, Morocco as part of exercise African Lion 22, Livorno, Italy, May 29, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Elena Baladelli)
Logisticians from multiple Southern European Task Force -Africa units including the 839th Transportation Battalion, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade, and the 23rd Modular Ordnance Ammunition Company all worked together at the Port of Livorno, Italy to upload the Military Sealift Command Vessel, USNS Yuma. The equipment will transit from locations across Europe to Agadir, Morocco as part of exercise African Lion 22, Livorno, Italy, May 29, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Elena Baladelli)
839th Transportation Bn. pushes equipment for major military exercise from Livorno port
10:50 AM6/4/2022
Equipment for U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise in Africa left the port of Livorno May 29 aboard the USNS Yuma. This equipment is a small part of the thousands of short tons now underway across the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans to several locations for Exercise African Lion 22.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa Commanding General Maj. Gen. Andrew Rohling listens to briefer comments during a joint task force exercise on Caserma Ederle April 5, 2022. Rohling's SETAF-AF headquarters hosted servicemembers from Navy, Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and several U.S. inter-agencies for the 10-day command post exercise. The exercise tested SETAF-AF's ability to operate as the nucleus of a joint task force in support of U.S. Africa Command. The more than 350 troops participating in the CPX are scheduled to come together again in July for Exercise African Lion 22 in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ghana. There they will join more than 7,000 other U.S., Allies and partner participants in USAFRICOM's largest, multinational joint exercise. AL22 is a joint, all domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which will employ a full array of mission capabilities with the continued goal of strengthening interoperability among participants. (U.S. Army photo by Chris House)
Maj. Gen. Andrew Rohling, commanding general, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, listens to Maj. Gen. David Ling, commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve 79th Theater Sustainment Command, during a rehearsal of concept drill for a joint exercise on Caserme Ederle, Vicenza, Italy, April 5, 2022. Rohling's SETAF-AF headquarters hosted servicemembers from Navy, Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and several U.S. inter-agencies for the 10-day command post exercise. The exercise tested SETAF-AF's ability to operate as the nucleus of a joint task force in support of U.S. Africa Command. The more than 350 troops participating in the CPX are scheduled to come together again in July for Exercise African Lion 22 in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ghana. There they will join more than 7,000 other U.S., Allies and partner participants in USAFRICOM's largest, multinational joint exercise. AL22 is a joint, all domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which will employ a full array of mission capabilities with the continued goal of strengthening interoperability among participants. (U.S. Army photo by Chris House)
Lt. Col. Alison Forney, from the 349th Field Hospital, takes a moment during the Southern European Task Force, Africa's "African Lion 22 MPE" to discuss why she decided to serve in the U.S. Army. (U.S. Army video by Chris House)
Body-cam video:
Paratroopers from U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa and 173rd Airborne Brigade joined Tunisia Armed Forces in an airborne exercise near Bizerte, Tunisia, March 3-4.
Approximately 50 Soldiers from SETAF-AF and 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, parachuted alongside 50 Tunisian military counterparts onto the Al Amila drop zone on Sidi Ahmed Air Base near Bizerte, Tunisia.
The paratroopers jumped from U.S. and Tunisian military aircraft, qualifying them for an exchange of foreign jump wings. U.S. and Tunisian soldiers presented each other parachutist badges in a ceremony March 4.
While the militaries have joined together in a number of military exercises, including African Lion last year, this was the first U.S.-Tunisia airborne exercise in a decade.
Military planners gather in Agadir, Morocco, Oct. 28, 2021, to make initial coordination for African Lion 22. U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, supported U.S. Africa Command as the lead agent for planning the combatant command's largest annual exercise. U.S. military planners joined partners from Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and elsewhere to discuss initial plans for USAFRICOM's premier exercise. (U.S. Army photo by Chris House.)
The African Lion initial planning event took place during the week of Oct. 25, 2021, in Agadir, Morocco. Spearheaded by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa and hosted by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, the African Lion IPE is the planning event for next year's African Lion Exercise. African Lion 22 will be a joint force headquarters validating, partnership strengthening, readiness building, multinational, multi-domain and multifunctional exercise testing the participating warfighters’ ability to deploy, fight and win in a complex, competitive and global environment. (U.S. Army video by Chris House)
AFRICOM commander meets African leaders at Exercise African Lion
11:07 AM6/21/2021
The Commander of U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, visited Morocco to attend the closing ceremony of Exercise African Lion 21 and to meet with several African defense leaders June 17-19. Townsend met with senior Moroccan military leaders for outstanding efforts by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces in planning and executing African Lion 2021; Senegal’s Chief of Defense Staff to thank the nation’s efforts as a security leader in West Africa and for hosting and participating in multiple U.S. Africa Command exercises; and Libyan leaders to stress foreign forces need to withdraw from Libya and discuss opportunities for greater military cooperation with the United States.
AFRICOM commander meets African leaders at Exercise African Lion
11:07 AM6/21/2021
The Commander of U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, visited Morocco to attend the closing ceremony of Exercise African Lion 21 and to meet with several African defense leaders June 17-19. Townsend met with senior Moroccan military leaders for outstanding efforts by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces in planning and executing African Lion 2021; Senegal’s Chief of Defense Staff to thank the nation’s efforts as a security leader in West Africa and for hosting and participating in multiple U.S. Africa Command exercises; and Libyan leaders to stress foreign forces need to withdraw from Libya and discuss opportunities for greater military cooperation with the United States.
African Lion 21 concludes in Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia
8:58 PM6/18/2021
African Lion 21, held from June 7-18, 2021, in Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, concludes. African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, Joint, annual exercise. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. AL21 is a multi-domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants.
African Lion 21 concludes in Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia
8:57 PM6/18/2021
African Lion 21, held from June 7-18, 2021, in Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, concludes. African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, Joint, annual exercise. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. AL21 is a multi-domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants.