After six months in Africa, 1st Lt. Nick Marfongelli and his soldiers had never been fitter or shot straighter.
"We were the best unit we’ve ever been while we were in Africa," he said. "We had time to sharpen the axe, and we were definitely prepared."
The soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division logged those high Army Physical Fitness Test and marksmanship scores while serving as the East Africa Response Force. Based at Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, the soldiers were tasked to respond, if called, to crises or threats in 13 countries along the East African front.
"The deployment gave me and my soldiers the opportunity to operate at a much higher level than our peers who didn’t deploy," Marfongelli said.
The soldiers worked with airmen, Marines and sailors, and trained to respond to a wide range of threats during their August 2015 to February 2016 deployment.
For Marfongelli, it was an experience the 24-year-old never thought he’d get so early in his career.
"It allowed me to get exposure to things that were a lot higher than my level," he said. "I got a better understanding of the things that were going on above me, and the exposure and the development for me, I can’t put a price on it. I was definitely a better platoon leader having done it."
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The experience gained and lessons learned by Marfongelli are exactly what U.S. Army Africa leaders are pushing, especially as the Army dedicates more forces to exercises and engagements on the African continent.
On any given day, about 2,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed to Africa, conducting theater security cooperation activities, training with African partners and participating in exercises, said Maj. Gen. Joseph Harrington, commander of U.S. Army Africa.
Africa is "just a splendid place" to give soldiers valuable leadership experience, Harrington has said.
Others have called Africa a "leadership lab."
This was especially true for the soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, who spent the last year regionally aligned to Africa.
In addition to sending soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry to Djibouti, the brigade also sent soldiers from a sister battalion to Gabon for jungle warfare training and to participate in Central Accord 2016, the largest exercise US Army has conducted on the African continent.
"Other than my squad leaders, this was the first time most of my soldiers were out of the country, much less deployed with the Army," said 2nd Lt. Tyler Thomas, a platoon leader with B Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. "It was a great opportunity to grow, see another culture and how another part of the world lives."
It also expanded his soldiers’ views on international partners, as his soldiers worked with troops from France, Gabon, Chad, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.
Thomas, 23, and his soldiers spent a month in Gabon, and for most of that time, his soldiers were working in squads, each paired with a different partner army.
This taught him how to operate in a more decentralized manner, as he bounded from one squad to another to make sure the training and partnering were going well, Thomas said.
"Even though we have different equipment, different ways of doing things, even though there’s a language barrier, we can still work together in an international setting to achieve a common mission," he said. "My squad leaders were really bringing their experience to the mission."
His soldiers also sharpened their own skills as they trained to conduct a live-fire exercise with the Gabonese army, Thomas said.
"Our team leaders and squad leaders were able to get in the trenches with the Gabonese," he said. "That’s where I think the Army needs to focus, that junior leader level. If our teams are as strong as they can be, then the squads and platoons and companies will be successful, and it builds up from there."
Marfongelli agreed.
"You can tell the difference between soldiers who’ve deployed and ones who have not in terms of maturity and basic skills," he said. "Before we deployed, there was a significant line between those who had and those who hadn’t. While deployed, our junior leaders got that broadening experience to work in a joint agency, multinational environment and put them out of their comfort zone."
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
