Photo By Sgt. Lydia Davey | U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Nelson Cardella, battalion commanding officer of 4th Tanks, 4th...... read more read more
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AGADIR, Morocco — U.S. and Moroccan troops joined together to plan and respond to a series of simulated scenarios during a week-long command post exercise here as part of AFRICAN LION 2010, May 19.
"The main purpose of the CPX is to work the Marine Corps planning process and actually get the Moroccan officers involved in all six steps," said Lt. Col. Nelson Cardella, battalion commanding officer of 4th Tanks, 4th Marine Division. "That's what we've been doing for the past few days – walking the Moroccans through the planning, and we're now in the briefing section, preparing subordinate commands for the execution."
The overall goal of such exercises is to afford U.S. and Moroccan troops the chance to work together and develop a joint product, according to Cardella.
The goal is achieved by using the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Tactical Warfare Simulation system, a computerized training tool specific to the Marine Corps.
"We develop a scenario and give them an area to work with, an enemy situation and the forces they are going to be playing with," said Scott Raiger, simulation liaison officer with U.S. Marine Forces Europe. "We are their higher headquarters. They take the forces that are allotted them, and work together over the course of the two-phase event – a staff exercise for planning, and the computer simulation for execution."
During the exercise, educational value is found especially in the planning stages, according to Cardella.
"We have found that having more time on the planning side of the house is actually better," Cardella said. "I think there is actually more learning occurring during that phase of the exercise. The execution of the CPX is really not that complicated; we make our money during the planning as Moroccan and American officers pair up together in their respective specialties, working together to develop products and provide briefs in two languages."
Although the two forces plan differently, their methodology is similar enough to be conducive to a challenge-free event, according to Cardella. The greatest challenge, he said, has been that, "Everything takes twice as long, because we have to translate it into both languages. It's actually taking longer than we expected because of the language barrier."
However, French translators, provided by the U.S. Army, assisted tremendously, according to Cardella.
"Having them here has been a great benefit," said Cardella. "They're very capable and talented, and certainly made translation and working together much easier. It would be very difficult to get around without them."
The value of such events is immense, according to Raiger.
"Bilateral engagement is the focus of exercises like this," Raiger said. "We're able to develop interoperability for future operations we may actually conduct. It doesn't necessarily mean we're going to do combat together, but could mean something as simple as delivering relief supplies. Cooperative engagement is the goal, and this is very good engagement. The U.S. and Moroccan counterparts are attacking this challenge as equals."
Cardella agrees.
"I think the opportunity to observe each other and learn from each other is invaluable," he said. "The Moroccan's have lots of questions. They grab me all the time to discuss concepts. For the Marines, this is a great opportunity for the reserve battalions because we don't often have the opportunity to sit down and actually develop and plan in an environment where you can learn so much from each other. The real-world experience of working through these things, with a language barrier, has been great. I think it's been rewarding for everyone involved."
The performance of the Moroccan troops has impressed the Marines during the exercise, according to Cardella.
"The officers are great," said Cardella. "It's interesting because they speak at least three languages: Arabic, French, and then either English, Spanish or German. We've received tremendous support from the Moroccan forces in logistics and administration. Their attitudes are professional, and we're very impressed with them.
AFRICAN LION 2010 is an annually scheduled, joint, combined U.S.-Moroccan exercise. It brings together nearly 1,000 U.S. service members from 16 locations throughout Europe and North America with more than 1,000 members of the Moroccan military. It is designed to promote interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation's military tactics, techniques and procedures. The exercise is scheduled to end on or around June 9. All U.S. forces will return to their home bases in the United States and Europe at the conclusion of the exercise.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2010 12:36 |
| Story ID: | 50069 |
| Location: | AGADIR, MA |
| Web Views: | 223 |
| Downloads: | 149 |
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