AGADIR, Morroco - U.S. Marine Sergeant Justin Sanders and Corpus Christi Police Officer deployed to Agadir, Morocco, April 1 to May 1, in support of African Lion 2013.
African Lion13 is a U.S. Africa Command-scheduled, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Africa-led, joint and multi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the U.S. that will involve more than 1,400 U.S. service members, approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, and for the first year, members of the Federal Republic of Germany Armed Forces. Additionally, 12 countries, both European and African, will be observing the exercise this year in anticipation of transitioning to participants for future exercises.
The life-long resident of Corpus Christi and 2000 graduate of Foy H. Moody High School, is the assistant operations chief for Marine Forces Africa (Forward), during the month-long evolution.
Sanders' responsibilities include: standing up and maintaining the command operations center for Marine Forces Africa (Fwd), in support of Task Force African Lion.
The task force is led by Col. Roger Garay, 14th Marine Regiment, commanding officer based out of Fort Worth, Texas.
“There are so many logistical responsibilities for an exercise of this size. From managing personnel throughout the Kingdom of Morocco, to maintaining vehicles and communication assets, there isn't much room for error,” said the 5-year CCPD veteran, and 10-year Marine reservist.
Sanders attributes his “tenacity and attention to detail” that he learned in the Corps and as a member of the CCPD, as to why he is the right man for the job.
“There are so many moving parts in making African Lion a success,” said Sanders, who is filling this critical billet for the second year in a row. “Knowing that I represent the standards of excellence of the CCPD and Marine Corps combined, the mission's success is imperative.”
The Marine Forces Africa-led exercise also involves various types of training to include: Maritime Prepositioning Forces (MPF) offloading and onloading, command post, live-fire and maneuvering, peace keeping operations, an intelligence capacity building seminar, amphibious operations, aerial refueling/low-level flight training, as well as medical, dental and optometry assistance projects.