Marine Forces Europe and Africa

Petty Officer 1st Class Mazamesso Solitoki, a corpsman with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Africa 14, and native of New York, N.Y., recently returned from a theater security cooperation mission in Burundi.

Solitoki was part of a small team of Marines and Sailors who trained and advised the Burundi National Defense Force in logistics and engineering, medical services, basic marksmanship, communications, vehicle movement and maintenance procedures, infantry squad tactics and staff coordination training.

SP-MAGTF Africa is a rotational deployment of Marines and Sailors for theater security cooperation in various African countries that was started in 2011. The current iteration is sourced from units across II MEF. It is primarily sourced from Combat Logistics Battalion- 2 out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.  CLB-2 is the first logistics battalion to serve as a command element for SP-MAGTF Africa. Also supporting SP-MAGTF Africa is a detachment from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.K. Royal Marines.

SP-MAGTF Africa strengthens U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command’s ability to assist partner nations in addressing their security challenges. Marines and Sailors with SP-MAGTF Africa conduct theater security cooperation, military-to-military engagements and are trained to provide contingency support to crisis response.