260506-A-AW306-2740

Austrian Army Col. Christian Schützenhöfer, a dentist, and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tim Farrow, a flight medic with the Vermont Army National Guard, pose with a Senegalese patient following a dental extraction during a multinational medical readiness exercise, or MEDREX, in Ziguinchor, Senegal, May 6, 2026. The patient, who had experienced ongoing dental pain and could not afford treatment, received care through coordination between Vermont National Guard personnel, Senegalese medical staff and the Austrian dental team during the exercise. Conducted during African Lion 2026, or AL26, the MEDREX highlights the Vermont National Guard’s Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program relationships with Senegal and Austria while bringing together medical personnel from the United States, Senegal, Austria and Italy to exchange medical knowledge and strengthen multinational readiness capabilities in resource-constrained environments. AL26 is U.S. Africa Command's largest annual joint exercise, designed to strengthen collective security capabilities of the U.S., African nations and global allies. Co-led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, or SETAF-AF, from April 20 to May 8, 2026, and hosted in Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, AL26 involves over 5,600 personnel from more than 40 nations, using innovation to drive partner-led regional security. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Christy L. Sherman.