Members of the Michigan National Guard from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army, at the Ben Ghilouf Training Area in Gabes, Tunisia, June 27, 2022. They have just completed a foreign deployment as part of joint military exercises African Lion 22, the largest and premier annual exercise of U.S. Africa Command (Africom).
Par Capt. Joe Legros
The south of Tunisia presents a vast desert, poisonous scorpions, giant spiders and multiple species of snakes. Ferocious sandstorms and extreme heat are the norm during the summer.
“Coming from Michigan, unit leaders agreed that this would create a unique exercise environment to test our equipment and challenge our soldiers”said U.S. Army Officer Darin Alexander, First Sergeant, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, Michigan Army National Guard. “That’s exactly a challenge that our soldiers faced.”
The 3rd Battalion of the 126th Infantry Regiment has committed to an overseas deployment for the African Lion 22 training exercise at the Ben Ghilouf training area in Tunisia.
African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest and premier annual exercise, involving more than 7,500 military personnel from 28 nations and NATO from June 6-30, 2022. The training builds interoperability and supports U.S. military strategic preparedness in Africa and around the world.
Extremely hot weather and sandstorms
Infantry unit capabilities include M4 rifles, including M320 grenade launcher pods, M249 automatic weapons, and M240B machine guns. All of these weapon systems were used during training.
“We train in extremely cold temperatures throughout the Michigan winter”said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kurt Blackburn. “It’s great to see that our soldiers and equipment can also withstand the stress of extremely hot weather and sandstorms.”
To mitigate heat-related losses, water and electrolyte powder were always available. A medical team, integrated into the unit, monitored the soldiers daily during and after the training missions.
As a result, the battalion completed firing operations, executed various firing scenarios, and demonstrated proficiency with weapons. Additionally, they conducted several dry-fire and live ammunition exercises incorporating simulated casualty combat rescue techniques.
The unit maintained soldier readiness and well-being while performing mission-critical tasks.
The culminating event of African Lion was a combined arms live-fire exercise with the Tunisian Armed Forces, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade, and National Guard units from Kansas and Oregon.
be ready for anything
“When we deploy, we will deploy with partners”said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Timothy Stark, commander of Company B, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment. “It is essential to train together, learn from other military units and grow as a multinational team,” he adds.
“We don’t always have the ability to choose our operating environment, so we have to be prepared for anything”he also clarified while leading his unit during a live-fire simulation on a particularly hot day.
Along with the approximately 70 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, who trained in Tunisia, thousands of other U.S. service members conducted exercises simultaneously in Morocco, Ghana and Senegal during African Lion 22 .
The exercise builds shared defense capabilities to counter transnational threats and violent extremist organizations.
Climate acclimatization, knowledge of the terrain and training with partner nations are necessary to achieve this goal.
“We came to Tunisia to put our soldiers to the test”Alexander said. “They passed that test and we are ready when called upon.”
Translated from American English.
Source : US Army.