LATHAM, N.Y. — Seven hundred New York Army National Guard soldiers will take part in a multinational training exercise in Tunisia and Morocco in May.
The bulk of the New York National Guard soldiers participating in the exercise are part of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment and will train in Morocco in the second half of the month.
The regiment is headquartered in Utica and has elements in Geneseo, Morrisonville, Ithaca and Glenville.
The 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, will deploy 120 soldiers with a battery of M114A1 105mm howitzers to the Armed Forces Reserve Center in New Windsor, Tunisia in early May.
The exercise, called African Lion, will be the largest US military training event to take place on the African continent. Over 8,100 military personnel from 27 counties and NATO will participate in training events in Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal.
“Multinational exercises like African Lion allow us to work shoulder-to-shoulder with many international partners and be part of a unique multinational force,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Frank Engle, the commander of the 108th Infantry.
“We relish the opportunity to demonstrate our capability on the continent,” he said.
Engle’s battalion will take part in operations in Morocco, along with soldiers from the Syracuse-based headquarters of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the Buffalo-based 152nd Engineer Battalion and the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery. The 258th Field Artillery is headquartered in Jamaica, Queens, but is currently operating out of Camp Smith, near Peekskill, while the arsenal is being rebuilt.
The 108th Infantry will fire tube-launched, visually tracked, wire-guided missiles, known as TOWs, and Javelin anti-tank missiles during the training.
African Lion 2024 is the 20th anniversary of a training exercise that initially involved only the US Marine Corps and the Moroccan military.
The exercise, coordinated by the US Africa Command, is designed to strengthen regional cooperation and security in North and West Africa. It’s an opportunity to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training to enhance interoperability and build readiness, according to the administration’s website.
New York National Guard soldiers will take part in live-fire exercises as part of exercises that include naval gunfire and even B-52 bombing missions in Morocco.
“This will easily be the biggest thing I’ve ever seen,” Engle said.
National Guard units from Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia will also participate in the training, along with active-duty U.S. forces, including the U.S. Army and Air Force Reserves and a large contingent of allied and partner countries.
Humanitarian aid visits by military doctors and dentists to local villages will also be part of the exercise in Morocco.
Additional images, videos and stories related to African Lion 2024 can be found on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at
Download date: | 30.04.2024 |
Shipping date: | 30.04.2024 08:41 |
Story ID: | 469849 |
Location: | LATHAM, New York, USA |
Hometown: | UTICA, New York, USA |
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