African Lion is a bilateral training exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States

African Lion is a bilateral training exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that involves more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. The exercise serves as a way for both U.S. and Moroccan military members to hone their skills and learn to work together to accomplish missions.


The two Pocono servicemen have trained with Moroccan forces in various areas, including peacekeeping operations, disaster response, aerial refueling and low-level flight training.

"It's been interesting training with a foreign military in a foreign country," said Franzese, a 2007 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School. "It's different because of the land, the weather and the general lack of technology in this area. The people are very hospitable though."

Franzese, Waldenmayer and their fellow service members train and live in the Moroccan desert, weathering sandstorms, rain showers and blistering heat.


"Being here has really been a learning experience," said Waldenmayer. The 2008 Pocono Mountain West High School graduate is working as a mechanic during the exercise.

"There's a lot of sand to deal with, so we're checking the air intake filters more often," he said. "The temperature's the same so far, so we haven't had to deal with too many heat-related issues."

Though the deserts of Africa are a drastic change of pace from the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, the two said they feel right at home.

"My impression of Morocco is that they are great allies to the United States," said Franzese, who has been in the military for nearly four years. "This country is not what I expected and has been a great host to our military."