During the month of June, 2022, the Idaho Army National Guard’s  1st Battalion-148th Field Artillery Regiment-116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (aka Snake River Brigade) pounded the countryside of Morocco, on the African continent.  Apparently it is part of having good international relations, and somehow reduces deployments: “One goal of the National Defense Strategy is to have good international relations and partnerships. Building multinational relationships, increasing their tactical proficiency and understanding how to work together reduces deployment requirements for our military and our international partners, and helps provide global security.”-Major Ryan Batt, 1st Battalion-148th Field Artillery Regiment-116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team

I say ‘somehow’, because the past few decades of this ‘National Defense Strategy’ has actually increased deployments, especially for the Idaho National Guard, and has not made the United States any more international friends, nor has it increased international security.

“Global security and the National Defense Strategy is important not only to us in Idaho but as a whole nation and should be important globally. This relationship has always been there, and we want to keep it strong moving forward.”-Major Ryan Batt, 1st Battalion-148th Field Artillery Regiment-116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team

Back to the pounding of Morocco.  This was part of what has become the largest yearly U.S./NATO wargame on the African continent, called African Lion.  About 80 Idaho Army & Air Guard personnel joined others from Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin Army National Guards, as well as a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve unit from California, and a Regular Army (RA, aka full-time active duty) unit from Texas, along with military personnel from Brazil, NATO-Canada, Ghana, Morocco, NATO-Netherlands, Senegal, Tunisia and NATO-United Kingdom.  Whew, more than 8-thousand military personnel!

Originally, Exercise African Lion started as a computer simulation in 1998, between a U.S. Army airborne unit in NATO-Italy and an airborne unit in Morocco.  It was held every two years.  By 2005, it involved actual military personnel on the ground in Morocco.  In 2007 it became a yearly wargame, involving more and more U.S. personnel and other NATO countries (again proving that this type of National Defense Strategy does not reduce deployments, or anything else).  Interestingly, in March 2020,  General Stephen Townsend, the commander of U.S. Africa Command (USAfriComm), stated “African Lion has been significantly reduced in scale and scope based on concerns that we all have about the safety of our troops and those of our partners.”  Really?

The Idaho National Guard also took part in African Lion in March 2019.

The days of Idaho’s M109A6 Paladins are numbered; during this wargame it was revealed that Idaho will be getting the new M109A7 (and I say don’t call it a Paladin because it is a totally different beast).

COLT=Combat Observation Lasing Team

FiST=Fire Support Team

Video sequences recorded by Idaho Air National Guard’s Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur, 26JUN2022, edited together by me:

Vehicle I-D: M109, COLD WAR to UKRAINE CRISIS

2022: IDAHO BASED SNAKE-RIVER INVADES TEXAS, NEXT STOP; KUWAIT & IRAQ!

KING OF THE STALLIONS STAMPEDES IDAHO!

IDAHO INVADED BY APACHES FROM ARIZONA & SINGAPORE?

CALIFORNIA, IOWA, NORTH CAROLINA, TEXAS, UTAH, WASHINGTON INVADE REBEL IDAHO!?

2021:  Snake River Brigade deploys yet again!

IDAHO GETS ‘SMART’ ARTILLERY ROUNDS, REVEALS “UPCOMING MOBILIZATIONS”

SINGAPORE’S IDAHO BASED SKY PIRATES BOMB LAS VEGAS?

2020: T-A-C-P-S USE HORSE POWER TO CALL IN AIR STRIKES ON IDAHO MOUNTAINS!

2019: UNITED STATES INVADES IDAHO!

2017:

UTAH’S SECRET(?) WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION EVENT IN EAST IDAHO!

2012: IDAHO’S MICRON TECHNOLOGY INVADES JAPAN!