Photo By Staff Sgt. Nathan Baker | Members of Royal Moroccan Armed Forces stand at attention during the visit of U.S....... read more read more
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KENITRA, Morocco – Soldiers, Airmen, firefighters, and first responders trained in disaster management operations with Moroccan counterparts, Sept. 12-23, 2022, in Kenitra, Morocco. The exercise, known as Maroc Mantlet, was a culmination of a year of planning and coordination with operations taking place in both the Unite de Secours et de Sauvetage (Relief and Rescue Unit) and the Royal Moroccan 3rd Air Base in Kenitra.
“Utah has had a state partnership with Morocco for approximately 20 years,” said U.S. Army National Guard Col. Erick Wiedmeier, commander of 97th Troop Command and the Region VIII Homeland Response Force. “We have a partnership to respond to all hazardous conditions. This mission gives Soldiers the opportunity to collaborate and participate with the Moroccan military and civilians in an all-hazards emergency.”
Maroc Mantlet combines aspects from wildland firefighting; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response; decon and medical training; airplane firefighting; in addition to search-and-rescue operations.
“Maroc Mantlet benefits both the United States and Utah service members and the Moroccan service members in building a stronger partnership,” said Weidmeier. “It increases our security, it improves our relationships, in our tactics and techniques both for Utah and Morocco.”
The highlight of the exercise was when a Canadair CL-415 extinguished a fire that was set to demonstrate the capabilities of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces to fight wildland fires.
“We are out sharing firefighting techniques and strategies with the Moroccan military and also picking up some of their strategies and techniques,” said U.S. Air National Guard, Master Sgt. Jesse Marrott with the 151st Air Refueling Wing Fire Department. “The most important thing we’ve been teaching them is aircraft rescue firefighting.”
Marrot continued, “They’ve been teaching us wildland and firefighting techniques that they’ve been doing, that’s their bread and butter,” he said.
Another large part of the exercise was centered around a possible terrorist attack.
“The Moroccan military brings skills to the table that I haven’t seen before,” said U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Don Ferguson, headquarters platoon sergeant, 115th Maintenance Company, decontamination mission for the HRF. “I’ve been able to learn about [area] survey and sampling. Those were skills that I’ve never worked on before.”
Time and time again, both Morrocan and U.S. personnel talked about the friendships they made.
“The human connections that I have made have been my favorite part of this mission,” said Ferguson. “Making friends with the local Soldiers, seeing the skills and hard work that they’ve put into this mission, and just the ability to joke around and have fun with them. The friendships I have built here, I hope to continue into the future.”
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| Date Taken: | 09.16.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2022 22:33 |
| Story ID: | 433010 |
| Location: | KENITRA, MA |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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