Approximately 33 US active duty military, reservists, and civilians have returned from African Lion 2006 in the Sahara desert, where they performed medical services and humanitarian visits for more than 9,400 Moroccans. “I left a piece of my heart in Morocco,” says Air Force Capt. Alvin Barber, adding, “The people were the most grateful I have ever seen.” Barber is a physician assistant with the 435th Medical Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany. During African Lion, the US medics worked with the Moroccan military and saw an average of 1,300 patients per day.
The U.S. military is carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions along the southern border and off the coast of Mexico using U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft as part of the Pentagon’s effort to secure the southern border at the direction of President…