The Utah National Guard’s 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, is making preparations to dispatch four AH-64D Apache helicopters to #Morocco via a C-5 Galaxy aircraft in support of #African_Lio_22. This annual exercise, organized by U.S. Africa Command, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 18, 2022.
To facilitate the transport, the aircraft maintainers from 1-211th ARB will ensure the helicopters are ready by folding the blades. Subsequently, members of the 151st Air Refueling Wing, Utah Air National Guard, stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California, will load and secure the helicopters onto the C-5 for their journey to Morocco.
Accompanying the helicopters will be approximately 65 members of the 1-211th ARB, who will provide support to the Combined Joint Task Force. Their responsibilities will include conducting mission-essential training at the team-to-platoon level, integrating with partner forces, demonstrating the capabilities of the AH-64D helicopters to the #Royal_Moroccan_Forces, enhancing the readiness of U.S. forces, strengthening relationships with African partners, promoting regional stability, and furthering the State Partnership Program between the Utah National Guard and Morocco.
Maj. Noe Vazquez, commander of 1-211th ARB, expressed pride in participating in African Lion 22 and emphasized the exercise’s significance in enhancing interoperability and capabilities with partner nations while fostering professional relationships.
The 1-211th ARB will join other members of the Utah National Guard in supporting African Lion 22. The 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) will participate in a command post exercise and Special Operations joint-training events in Agadir, Morocco. The Utah Medical Readiness Detachment will provide humanitarian civic assistance in Taliouine, Morocco, and the 151st Air Refueling Wing will offer air refueling support.
African Lion 22 is the largest and most prominent annual exercise conducted by U.S. Africa Command, involving over 7,500 service members from June 6 to 30. Led by the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, the exercise will take place in Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia. Military forces from Brazil, Chad, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom will participate alongside U.S. and host nation troops. Participants from all service components, including the Reserves and National Guard, will contribute to the exercise.
This exercise serves to establish a theater for access and enhance interoperability among partner nations. Extensive collaboration between all participating countries has been undertaken to ensure the implementation of proper COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
source