Family ties: Siblings strengthen readiness, relationships during African Lion 2025
U.S. Army Maj. Carolyn Vandeventer, then a college graduate and soon-to-be officer candidate, poses with her brother, Stuart Vandevick, following her graduation from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, December 2005. Taken just 10 days before Vandeventer departed for basic training, the photo captures a formative moment in the siblings’ parallel journeys in military service—years before their future deployment together in support of African Lion 2025. AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise enhances our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (Courtesy photo)