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Militaries begin planning for largest U.S. Africa Command exercise

Military planners gather in Agadir, Morocco, Oct. 28, 2021, to make initial coordination for African Lion 22. U.S. military planners joined partners from Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ghana, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and elsewhere to discuss initial plans for U.S. Africa Command's premier exercise.

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Photo by: Chris House 

Military planners from several countries convened here Oct. 25-29 to begin coordination of the largest annual exercise in Africa.

Spearheaded by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, African Lion is U.S. Africa Command's premier exercise. It is part of a multinational training mission with African partners and NATO Allies.

Maj. James Guglielmi, SETAF-AF foreign area officer, said the upcoming exercise will expand beyond the scope of the 2021 training event.

“AL22 is the premiere joint multinational exercise in the AFRICOM area of responsibility,” Gugliemi said. “It is going to be better and bigger than last year, and will be the best exercise to date.”

AL22 will include U.S. forces in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, as well as 20 nations. The event is planned to be conducted in Morocco, Senegal, and Ghana, and training will range from battalion-level operations, to humanitarian and medical missions, as well as security force training.

African Lion a joint, all-domain exercise on the continent of Africa with strategic importance. The exercise is located at the intersection of four combatant commands and key locations along the Mediterranean Sea, and is part of the USAFRICOM Campaign Plan. It functions as a platform to support interoperability between partner nations as well as increase the U.S. influence in North Africa and the Sahel.