U.S., Moroccan divers hone skills in bilateral dive engagement

The engagement, running from Oct. 31 - Nov. 19, 2022, focused on advanced diving capabilities such as surface supplied diving, underwater cutting and welding, and dive casualty management.

“Having strong relationships with partners like this right in our backyard means we are much more prepared to respond to a crisis.” - Construction Mechanic Senior Chief Nathan Emmett

By U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Public Affairs , U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa KSAR SGHIR, Morocco Dec 12, 2022

View Gallery

Gallery contains 4 images

U.S. Navy Seabee divers, assigned to Commander Task Force 68, conducted an advanced bilateral dive engagement with Royal Moroccan Navy divers at the Moroccan Naval diving school at Ksar Sghir, Morocco, from Oct. 31 - Nov. 19, 2022.

“We are excited to work with the U.S. Navy divers again,” said Lt. Toaufik Essaadi, Royal Moroccan Navy. “Our goal is to increase our diving capability in all aspects of military diving.”

The engagement focused on advanced diving capabilities such as surface supplied diving, underwater cutting and welding, and dive casualty management. These capabilities are important to both the U.S. Navy and Royal Moroccan Navy because of the extremely large amount of ship traffic in the region.

“The Moroccan Navy divers are a highly trained team of professional divers,” said U.S. Navy Construction Mechanic Senior Chief Nathan Emmett, from Underwater Construction Team 1, and the Construction Detachment Charlie master diver and officer in charge. “Having strong relationships with partners like this right in our backyard means we are much more prepared to respond to a crisis.”

The dive engagement builds on a multi-year effort between CTF 68 and Moroccan partners. Seabees assigned to CTF 68 have been constructing training facilities at the Royal Moroccan Navy dive school for the two last years. These construction efforts have included maritime training facility with a rappelling tower, a close-quarter shoot house, and a shipping container mockup.

The work accomplished building these facilities, and diving alongside one another, paves the way for continued training opportunities during annual exercises Phoenix Express and African Lion. The U.S. and Morocco are planning for future maritime interdiction training and a multinational dive exchange.

“The Royal Moroccan Navy were fantastic and gracious hosts and their dive school is very impressive,” said U.S. Navy Utilitiesman 2nd Class Robert Urlich. “It was an honor and a real pleasure to work side by side with such professionals!”

UCT 1 is a specially trained and equipped unit within the Navy Expeditionary Combat Force that constructs, inspects, repairs and maintains ports, ocean facilities, underwater systems, and general maritime infrastructure. UCT is a key component of port damage repair operations during a disaster or contingency.

CTF 68, headquartered in Rota, Spain, commands all Navy Expeditionary Forces in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility and is responsible for providing EOD operations, naval construction, expeditionary security, and theater security efforts in direct support of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and U.S. Sixth Fleet.

Military Leaders from the US and Morocco Strengthen Partnerships at the Marrakech Airshow 2024

AFRICOM Commander Visits Morocco

African Lion 2024: Morocco hosts multinational planning meeting

Exercise Obangame Express 23 aids maritime security and prosecution in the Gulf of Guinea

International exercise Obangame Express 2023 set to begin

Morocco

U.S. Naval Forces Europe & Africa

Seabees

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

U.S., Moroccan divers hone skills in bilateral dive engagement

The engagement, running from Oct. 31 - Nov. 19, 2022, focused on advanced diving capabilities such as surface supplied diving, underwater cutting and welding, and dive casualty management.