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U.S. Army, Marine forces conduct response exercise in N. Africa

Soldiers from 173rd Airborne Brigade board a C-17 Globemaster III during Exercise Judicious Activation at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Nov. 9, 2020. The exercise tested the no-notice deployment capability of U.S. Africa Command’s North and West Africa Response Force, made up of elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Southern European Task Force, from Vicenza, Italy, and Marine Corps and Air Force aviation elements from Spain and Germany respectively.

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Photo by: Spc. Meleesa Gutierrez 

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U.S. Army, Marine forces conduct response exercise in N. Africa

U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 conduct an aerial refueling of a V-22 Osprey during Exercise Judicious Activation at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Nov. 8, 2020. The exercise tested the no-notice deployment capability of U.S. Africa Command’s North and West Africa Response Force, made up of elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Southern European Task Force, from Vicenza, Italy, and Marine Corps and Air Force aviation elements from Spain and Germany respectively.

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Photo by: Spc. Meleesa Gutierrez 

Elements of Army, Marines and Air Force conducted a full dress rehearsal of U.S. Africa Command's crisis response capability Nov. 6-9.

Exercise Judicious Activation kicked off early Friday morning with a no-notice alert to participating U.S. forces in Italy, Spain and Germany. The participants assembled at Naval Air Station - Sigonella in southern Italy under the command and control of the Southern European Task Force.

There, paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade boarded U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft which shuttled them across the Mediterranean to North Africa.

"We successfully demonstrated a critical capability available to the AFRICOM combatant commander," said Maj. Gen. Andrew M. Rohling, the SETAF commanding general. "We are stronger as a joint team and this structure enables swift and agile response to crises on the continent."

This was the first full dress rehearsal for the Army-led North and West Africa Response Force since taking over for the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa in early October.

SETAF deployed its early entry command post to coordinate the crisis response force, made up of paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey squadron based in Moron, Spain. SETAF and the 173rd's "Sky Soldiers" are based in Vicenza, Italy. These elements make up AFRICOM's North and West Africa Response Force, which is tasked to protect U.S. persons, property and interests in the AFRICOM area of responsibility in case of crisis.

Personnel assigned to the response force mission completed necessary COVID-19 screening immediately upon alert.

"Even in an environment degraded by the COVID-19 global pandemic, the North and West Africa Response Force successfully deployed validated its capability to alert, marshall, deploy, conduct deliberate and dynamic planning, and conduct operations at a moment's notice," Rohling said.