JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Three 315th Security Forces Squadron members here joined a multinational military force at African Lion 16 in Tifnit, Kingdom of Morocco, April 14 to 29.
Service members from the U.S. Armed Forces, the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, the Federal Republic of Germany Armed Forces and other partner nations, to include Mauritania, Canada, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Tunisia and the Netherlands, participated in the annual training exercise this year.
The exercise designed to improve interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation’s tactics, techniques and procedures while demonstrating the strong bond between those participating.
This was the first year that Charleston Reservists participated in the multinational exercise.
Tech. Sgt. Steve Smith led Charleston’s contribution to the exercise. “We jumped at the opportunity to be a part of Desert Lion. Working in a joint environment like this gives us the ability to broaden our cross cultural experiences, not just because we were in Morocco, but by working with other NATO nations as well,” he said.
Smith’s team from Charleston performed joint training exercises along Marine Corps Reserve and Army military police. He said they also augmented the Marines during civil unrest and “less than lethal” training.
As a bonus, Smith said his team was given the opportunity to shoot weapons used by the other nations, including AK-47 assault rifle variant used by the Moroccans, and the Spanish Army’s rifle of choice, the Heckler & Koch G-36-E assault rifle.
Lance Cpl. Melissa Martens, Marine Corps Forces Reserve contributed to this story
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