AfricanLion

About African Lion

African Lion 25 is U.S. Africa Command's largest, premier, annual exercise, hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. This joint, all-domain, multi-component, and multinational exercise includes more than 10,000 participants from more than twenty nations, including contingents from NATO. African Lion aims to strengthen interoperability among participants and build readiness to respond to crises and contingencies in Africa and around the world.

The exercise will include a command post exercise, field training exercises, a live-fire demonstration, and humanitarian civic assistance program events. Additionally, humanitarian civic assistance missions will feature a combination of medical, dental and veterinary assistance and exchanges across Morocco, Ghana and Senegal.

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African Lion 25 Announcment

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Press Information

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Videos

Video by Jorge Gomez

The Badge & the Battlefield

Irwin Army Community Hospital

May 8, 2025 | 5:42

They come from different corners of Irwin Army Community Hospital—orthopedics, physical therapy, public health, biomedical repair—but they all share one goal: earning the Expert Field Medical Badge.

Follow these determined Soldiers as they take on one of the Army’s toughest skill challenges. Hear CPT Joseph Marcotte, a seasoned physical therapist, reflect on age, injury risk, and battlefield readiness. Meet SPC Kangle Lin, whose love of difficult challenges is matched only by his optimism. Watch SGT Alan Sanchez and SGT Jacob Brand return for their fifth and fourth attempts, driven by grit and a refusal to give up. And learn why SPC Cristian Núñez believes a biomedical tech’s greatest service might come in the chaos of combat. Watch now to meet the Soldiers chasing the badge that sets medics apart.

The EFMB tests Soldiers in tactical combat casualty care, land navigation, physical fitness, and warrior tasks under extreme stress and tight timelines. It’s a grueling, week-long evaluation of medical expertise and battlefield readiness that culminates in a timed 12-mile foot march.

Earning the badge isn’t easy. Historically, only 18 to 33 percent of candidates pass. But each of the Soldiers featured here is stepping forward with courage and purpose. Watch to find out what drives them—and what it really takes to wear the badge.

Music title "Emergent" by Scott Buckley (@ScottBuckley) – released under CC-BY 4.0.