Joint military maneuvers of the armies of Morocco and the United Kingdom are taking place for 3 weeks near Marrakech as part of the Jebel Sahara exercise, with a 6-day war simulation on the program. For the British army, Morocco is a “long-standing partner of the United Kingdom in North Africa”.
For 3 weeks, soldiers from the British Army’s Global Response Force join their Moroccan counterparts to put their desert warfare skills to the test.
Several joint exercises are on the agenda, including that of the Group of Company A, based in Colchester, the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (A Coy Gp, 2 PARA) working in Morocco alongside troops from the 2nd Brigade Paratrooper Infantry.
Among the exercises carried out in the region of Marrakech, there is the capture of an airstrip to launch new attacks, the troops will also perfect their tactics of fire and maneuver in combat with live ammunition.
“Morocco has been a long-standing partner of the UK in North Africa, with the first bilateral Jebel Sahara exercise held in 1989”says the official British Army website, adding that joint training helps “ develop shared skills and relations between the two armies to improve their ability to operate together”.
Separately, the exercise is preparing for a six-day war game with British and Moroccan troops fighting side by side to seize an airstrip and use it as a base to launch strike operations. .
Major Ash Neve, Commanding Officer A Coy Gp, stated that “Exercise Jebel Sahara is about developing our readiness for operations, wherever and however we are asked. We trained in demanding and unfamiliar terrain and, working side by side with the Moroccans, we learned from their desert experience and developed a cultural understanding that will help us if we operate with North African troops in the future. “.
A Coy Group 2nd Bn @TheParachuteReg
is in Morocco🇲🇦🇬🇧Ex Jebel Sahara. The 3-week training is about sharing skills and experience with Moroccan paratroopers – “It’s about developing our readiness for operations, wherever and whatever is asked of us” – Maj Neve OC A Coy 🟦 pic.twitter.com/xyx9zJlGwi— TheParachuteRegiment (@TheParachuteReg) November 8, 2022
For his part, Corporal Paul Burnell of 2 PARA commented on the excellent relations between the troops of the two countries. ” There was a very good relationship between us and the Moroccan soldiers. We played football together and most of them speak some English so we were able to talk about our lives and careers,” he asserted.
British soldiers were able to learn from the experience of Moroccan troops how to operate in the hot, dry and demanding conditions of the desert. In return, they shared with the Moroccans their skills in patrolling, on foot and in vehicles, marksmanship, demolitions and care for the wounded.