Honoring the fallen, uniting the living: A legacy rekindled at African Lion 2025 [Image 2 of 2]

DAKAR, SENEGAL

05.07.2025

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Solomon Navarro 

U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Gabay, a senior operations advisor assigned to the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade, poses for a photo with Royal Netherlands Army Capt. Lars Roijen, a logistics officer with the Royal Netherlands Army’s 13 Light Brigade, at the Centre d’Entraînement Tactique 2 (CET2) during African Lion 2025 (AL25) in Dodji, Senegal, May 4, 2025. The two soldiers, now working side-by-side in support of U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual exercise, forged a personal bond after discovering Roijen’s hometown is home to the cemetery where Gabay’s great uncle, a World War II U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, is buried and honored by Dutch tradition.

AL25 is set to be the largest annual military exercise in Africa, bringing together over 40 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Solomon Navarro)

• Date Taken: 05.07.2025
• Date Posted: 05.25.2025 04:30
• Photo ID: 9025267
• VIRIN: 250507-A-ZL157-1001
• Resolution: 4862x7293
• Size: 18.86 MB
• Location: DAKAR, SN