Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Slaymaker | U.S. Army Spc. Noah Murray serves as a combat medic with 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry...... read more read more
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ISIOLO, Kenya — U.S. Army Spc. Noah Murray serves as a combat medic with 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard. Originally from Dighton, Mass., he recently volunteered to deploy to Kenya for exercise Justified Accord 2023 (JA23).
“My initial role at the exercise was to help with the aid station,” said Murray. “But through some infantry connections, I’ve been fortunate enough to team together with the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade (2SFAB) as well.”
The 2SFAB’s primary mission is to train, advise and assist with operations, working closely together with allied and partner nations. They often spend months at a time with host nation militaries, exchanging best practices and ironing out differences in communication and tactics.
“Here at JA23, we work and train with partner nations on medicine and urban operations and infantry tactics,” said Murray.
Soldiers from Djibouti, Uganda and the U.S. gathered in Kenya’s School of Infantry in Isiolo, as part of a multinational exercise involving nearly 1,000 participants from 20 partner nations representing four continents. It is U.S. African Command’s largest exercise in East Africa.
“Personally, I love the heat and I can’t complain at all. I love getting up in the morning, walking outside this tent everyday, and seeing these beautiful mountains all around us,” he said.
He shared that partner nations have been great to work with throughout the exercise.
“Everyone has been very receptive to different tactics and techniques, they’ve been really approachable and seem to appreciate the exchange of skills and information,” Murray said. “I’ve enjoyed talking with them after training, taking pictures together; it’s been a really good experience.”
Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), JA23 seeks to increase partner readiness for peacekeeping missions, crisis response and humanitarian assistance.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2023 14:55 |
| Story ID: | 438772 |
| Location: | ISIOLO, KE |
| Hometown: | DIGHTON, MA, US |
| Hometown: | HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 278 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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