ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The first 22 M1 Abrams tanks repaired for the Morocco Forces Armee Royal were handed off in a delivery ceremony July 26 in Nouaceur, Morocco.
The vehicles were completed at Anniston Army Depot in May and were shipped quickly, thanks to coordination between the installation and the Defense Logistics Agency, which had rail cars allocated and standing by for receipt of the vehicles, according to Jonathan Hathaway, ANAD program manager for M1A1 Abrams foreign military sales to Morocco.
The hand-off isn't the end of ANAD's involvement.
A depot fielding support team, consisting of 15 employees are in Morocco to off-load the vehicles and begin deprocessing and maintenance support for the vehicles.
Deprocessing includes ensuring all tanks are clean and free of debris and stains, have the correct level of fuel as determined by the Morocco Forces Armee Royal, ensuring each weapons card reflects the correct serial number information by tank serial number and following Moroccan requirements for requisitioning parts and returning unserviceable parts to the Forces Armee.
"The Deprocessing Team will also compile a Tank Configuration Report for each vehicle that will be uploaded into a repository. This will be used to establish the Moroccan's configuration matrix for the entire fleet," said Hathaway.
The ANAD employees are also tasked to train the Moroccans on the vehicles.
"Two field service representatives will remain in Morocco for one year, with an option to extend two additional years, if needed, to provide vehicle maintenance and training support," said Mike Osborne, maintenance management specialist for fielding operations in the Directorate of Production Management.
While in Morocco, the representatives will provide advanced maintenance and troubleshooting services to the ANAD fielding team and the Moroccan M1 Abrams tank units, according to Osborne.
In November, to prepare for fielding the vehicles, which are the first of 222 M1 Abrams tanks to be repaired through a partnership between ANAD and General Dynamics Land Systems, depot representatives and TACOM Life Cycle Management Command officials visited Morocco.
"Last November, a joint effort site assessment was performed by TACOM, ANAD and the New Equipment Training Team," said Hathaway. "The information gathered during this visit allowed us to outline mission requirements and establish a plan of execution."
The team also provided recommendations to Morocco for site improvements which would accommodate effective training, range exercises and maintenance operations.
"The Morocco Tank Program is a perfect example of USASAC's mission and the importance of security assistance," said Scott Huther, division chief of AFRICOM Regional Operations for the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command. "We are providing our partner, Morocco, not just with equipment, but a capability -- which is what building partner capacity is about. By providing these tanks, we have enhancing Morocco's military capability and provided work for our industrial base."
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