Marines clean weapons and talk during off-duty time while deployed to southern Morocco
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Jessica Switzer
For The Sanatoga Post
Pottsgrove High School 2005 graduate Shane Hansley
CAP DRAA, Morocco – The sun barely peeked over the horizon when the stillness was shattered by the roar of artillery. At the sound, a 2005 graduate of Pottsgrove High School crawled out of his tent into the southern Moroccan morning and began another day.
Marine Reserve Lance Cpl. Shane A. Hansley, the son of Bret and Melissa Hansley of West Moyer Road, Pottstown PA, has been serving in Morocco to support “African Lion 2011,” the name for military exercises between the Kingdom of Morocco and the U.S.
Hansley’s job: “I pick up and deliver ammunition to the gun units,” he said.
African Lion 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 a accomplish missions.
“Training in Morocco isn’t too bad. It’s been warm, but not too hot, and it’s rained every night,” said Hansley, an ammunition technician assigned to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, based in Reading PA.
Despite several barriers, Hansley and his fellow service members worked with Moroccan forces on different types of military training including command post, live fire, peace-keeping operations, disaster response, aerial refueling and low-level flight training.
Members of the Marine Corps 4th Artillery Battalion prepare to fire a howitzer in Morocco
They not only trained in the Moroccan desert, they lived there as well. They experienced sandstorms, the rain showers of the wet season, and traditional desert heat. They even had an opportunity to spend some time off duty experiencing the culture and seeing the sights. “I have learned a little bit about Africa and how the Moroccan army is different from ours since I’ve been here,” said Hansley.
“So far it has been pretty good, except for the rain. I didn’t know it rained so much in the desert,” said Hansley, who has completed almost four years of military service.
As the artificial thunder of artillery fire dies away for a moment, the sun rises fully above the desert horizon and begins its journey toward the nearby Atlantic Ocean. Hansley and the other participants in African Lion 2011 go about their business, sharing experiences and knowledge with each other and their Moroccan counterparts.
