Service members began hosing down military equipment in preparation for the retrograde portion of Exercise African Lion 12 at the port of Agadir, Morocco, April 16, 2012.

Three-hundred fifteen vehicles, generators, flood lights and other military items were utilized during the 8th iteration of African Lion, which annually brings Royal Moroccan armed forces and U.S. armed forces together to share knowledge and experience in areas of military study such as, ground combat operations humanitarian civil operation and aviation support.

Marines and National Guardsmen began preparing convoys of vehicles carrying various equipment for shipment by either contracted cargo vessels or maritime protection vessels.

Embarkation specialists and customs officials supervised as the service members cleaned out any type of biological material such as soil, plant life and insects, said Sergeant James Chavez, an embarkation logistics specialist with the strategic mobility office of Marine Forces Reserve based out of New Orleans.

"It may take several hours of cleaning before a vehicle passes inspection but it's important," said Corporal Carolyn Ziegler, a landing support specialist with 4th Landing Support Battalion. "If a specimen were to travel from Morocco to the U.S. or vice versa, the affects on the environment can endanger entire ecosystems."

After pieces of equipment pass inspection, they are placed in an area sectioned off to prevent recontamination.

The cleaning began two days before the end of the exercise with equipment that was deemed unnecessary to the end of the exercise, said Staff Sergeant Travis Combs, an embarkation chief with 4th Marine Division based out of Fort Worth, Texas.

"The Marines are showing their commitment to mission accomplishment by staying up into the early hours of the morning making sure these vehicles are clean," Combs said. "It's the show of dedication and team work to get ready for departure that demonstrates their desire to return next year."