U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa (SPMAGTF-CR-AF) conducted a bilateral training exercise with Portuguese Fuzileiros near Lisbon, Portugal during the week of April 6. The goal of this training was to strengthen U.S. military relations with our Portuguese partners, while enhancing U.S. capabilities. This is the second of such training and is highly valued as it identifies the logistics associated with completing potential missions within Africa. This joint exercise is an opportunity to do train together, while employing different aviation assets, strengthening interoperability of the U.S. Marines and Portuguese Fuzileiros.
Approximately 60 U.S. Marines and sailors participated in a demonstration at the Campo do Tiro in Alcochete. Ambassador Sherman and COL Savage, SPMAGTF-CR-AF commander, were present during the exercise and spoke to members of the press who were invited to record the event.
The SPMAGTF-CR-AF is a rotational contingent of approximately 800 Marines, sailors and support elements sourced from a variety of U.S. Marine Corps units, to include the Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The units deploy 12 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, four KC-130J Hercules aerial refueling tankers, and several other assets as needed for their operations.
The SPMAGTF-CR-AF is postured to respond to a broad range of military operations in the AFRICOM region, including: U.S. Embassy reinforcement, non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, theater security cooperation, and other missions as directed.
