Exercise African Lion 23 Embodies ‘Stronger Together’

By ADF On Jun 27, 2023

A U.S. Army Soldier discusses drop-zone security with a Moroccan Soldier in Ben Guerir, Morocco, on June 10, 2023, during Exercise African Lion 2023. SGT. MIKAYLA FRITZ/U.S. ARMY

ADF STAFF

Multinational collaboration was on full display at the 2023 African Lion joint military training exercise from May 31 to June 14, 2023.

A joint chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) explosive ordnance disposal training event in Tamale, Ghana, exemplified the spirit of African Lion, underscoring the principle of “Stronger Together.”

Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) personnel learned to respond in a CBRN environment and shared firefighting techniques with their U.S. military counterparts. GAF Sgt. Richard Darkwa, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, praised the exchange of knowledge.

“The coordination has been very good because they are free for us to ask them any question,” he said. “If you don’t understand something, they are open to answer any question you ask them, and they are very understanding.

A Moroccan Soldier sets up a pulley system during a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear explosive ordnance disposal training scenario at the port in Agadir, Morocco, on June 11, 2023, during African Lion 2023. PFC. TREVOR SEILER/U.S. ARMY

“More exercises like this should be organized so that others that work in different fields also have the chance to share the experience.”

U.S. Army Spc. Michael Andrus, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, said it has been gratifying to work on techniques with people who share a passion for working with explosives.

“They’ve come up with some really creative solutions to the problems,” he said. “They’ve been teaching us too. It’s been nice.”

African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual combined, joint exercise and is the largest joint exercise on the continent. This year, more than 8,000 participants focused on enhancing readiness, strengthening partnerships and shared defense capabilities, and increasing interoperability.

Nineteen armed forces from Africa, Europe, North America and South America participated in four host nations: Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.

A Moroccan artillery crew member waits for the command to load his weapon system in Tan Tan, Morocco, during Exercise African Lion 2023 on June 9, 2023. STAFF SGT. ARIEL J. SOLOMON/U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

The exercise included a joint task force command post exercise, combined arms live-fire exercises, a maritime exercise, aerial exercises, a joint forcible entry exercise, the CBRN program, cyber defense training and a humanitarian civic assistance event.

The exercise aims to provide realistic, dynamic and collaborative training that demonstrates the strategic commitment to African regional stability of allied countries.

Mohammed Berrid, inspector general of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and commander of Morocco’s Southern Zone said the “planned training sessions coincided with a tense geopolitical and geostrategic context.”

“The Moroccan armed forces have worked in recent years on a comprehensive modernization of their land, air and sea arsenal in line with the requirements of the war arena at the regional and continental level, in addition to the security threats that may come from the Sahel and Sahara region, which have seen mounting terrorist and criminal activity,” Hisham Moatadhed, a Moroccan academic and expert in international relations, told The Arab Weekly newspaper.