Wisconsin Army Guard unit completes Morocco training

Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office

The 1158th Transportation Company, based in Beloit with a detachment in Black River Falls, sent 56 Soldiers over the course of two 19-day annual training sessions to participate in Exercise African Lion 11, a bilateral exercise scheduled by the U.S. African Command. The exercise includes peacekeeping operations, humanitarian civic assistance operations, and construction projects.

According to Capt. Michael Laube, unit commander, preparation for annual training began in April by convoying 10 M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) truck systems and supporting vehicles to Norfolk, Va., for shipment to Morocco. Once in Morocco, the 1158th linked up with Army Task Force 24 and took part in a joint logistics effort with Navy and Marine personnel, unloading all vehicles from the transport ship at the Port of Tan Tan and stage them in a base camp at Camp Draa. This involved running convoys over difficult mountain terrain to an austere location in the Saharan Desert.

The 1158th also provided HET system training to Moroccan service members.

"They currently have the trucks, but not the trailers," said Sgt. Brandon Millner. "We're getting them some good training on that."

The exercise itself involved more than 2,000 U.S. troops and 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. The 1158th supported U.S. Marines, hauling a variety of equipment to include M1 Abrams tanks. Following the exercise, the base camp was dismantled and all equipment convoyed back to Tan Tan for the voyage home. The 1158th racked up 44,782 accident-free miles moving 74 pieces of equipment.

"I am extremely proud of the Soldiers' efforts over the past two months," Laube said. "[They completed] a difficult mission with 100 percent success and a high level of professionalism and enthusiasm. The 1158th represented the state of Wisconsin and the National Guard very well."

Millner compared their training environment to Iraq.

"Dusty, sandy, and a long ways away from home," he said. "Didn't have any showers for quite a while."

The 1158th's annual training actually concluded Thursday (June 30) when the unit brought its last remaining HET systems back to Wisconsin from Norfolk.