The multinational exercise has begun African Lion 2024, organized by the American command Southern European Task Force - Africa (SETAF-AF) based in Vicenza on mandate of Africa command US (AFRICOM).
African Lion 2024 takes place simultaneously in Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, until May 31, with over 7.100 participants from over twenty nations, including NATO contingents.
For the Italian Defense theItalian joint force headquarters (ITA JFHQ), the joint force command at brigade level which is extremely flexible, with high operational readiness and characterized by an extrinsically projectable connotation (even in configuration seabased). Placed directly under the operational command of interforce forces (COVI), the ITA JFHQ is responsible for the planning and management of small scale operations and evacuation operations of our compatriots abroad in case of need, as occurred as a result of the rapid deterioration of the security framework in Afghanistan in August 2021, rather than due to the armed clashes in Sudan in April 2023 or immediately after coup in Niger in July of the same year.
The strategic objective of African Lion 2024 is to strengthen the capacity to interact and inter-operate with African and European partners with interests in this continent in order to jointly and successfully address common security challenges.
The contribution of the ITA JFHQ to the current edition of african lion is to simulate the command responsible for the evacuation operations of civilians from a crisis area in which hostilities are underway, meanwhile affected by an earthquake which led to the adoption of a ceasefire by the parties to allow the carrying out of the operations activities to support the populations involved.
The Italian command, which from 27 May will deploy its capabilities in the areas of Agadir and Tan Tan in Morocco until 1 June, is supported by Army departments (in particular from the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade and the 11th Transmissions Regiment) and the Air Force (32nd Air Wing, 37th Air Wing and 46th Air Brigade).
JFHQ's participation in African Lion 2024 represents an important opportunity for Defense to consolidate the already established leadership in the Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-Atlantic security context, since it also acts as an accredited and important interlocutor on NEO matters (Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation), being able to: place the right emphasis on the importance attributed to the protection of non-combatants (nowadays a topic of very high relevance, at the center of the global geopolitical and geostrategic reality); increase participation in international activities that enhance, in particular, the function of Command and Control (C2) of a package of Forces already consolidated as an enabler for NEOs; maximize opportunities arising from international cooperation programs; promote and consolidate the knowledge of the ITA JFHQ in the international panorama as Defense "excellence".
