Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has been sending troops for a major
military exercise in Morocco.

The U.S. Marine Corps has sent hundreds of soldiers for African Lion,
scheduled to take place in Morocco in early April. Officials said 1,200
U.S. military personnel were being prepared for the exercise in the North
African kingdom.

“If we can get the Moroccans to work with their neighbors too, who then might work with us in the future, it promotes stability and cooperation,” Marine Col. Roger Garay said.

“We need more stability in that part of the world.”

Garay has overseen deployment of his 14th Marine Regiment, based in Fort Worth, Texas.

The regiment would be joined by 250 Marine reservists from North Texas, most of whom arrived by March 28.

This marked the second time Marine reserves were commanding an exercise with Morocco, deemed a leading U.S. ally in the Arab world. Officials said the exercise would focus on counter-insurgency, intelligence collection and combat maneuvers.

“This is precedent-setting stuff,” Garay said.

“The Marine Corps is working hard to operationalize the reserves. The reserve outfit we have today has so much capability from having gained experience in the fight the last few years.”

  1, 14th Marine Regiment, 200 U.S. Marines in Morocco for ‘Africa Lion’ exercise, African Lion exercise, Col. Roger Garay, counter-insurgency, U.S. Marine Corps