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U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24) poses for a photo during Exercise AL24 in Tamale, Ghana, May 14. 2024. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
Photo 2 of 6
U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24)and U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Derek Bautista, a data operations technician with the 302nd Communications Flight, sets up an antenna for radio communications during Exercise AL24 in Tamale, Ghana, May 13. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
Photo 3 of 6
U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24) poses for a photo during Exercise AL24 in Tamale, Ghana on May 14. 2024. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
Photo 4 of 6
U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24) and U.S. Air Force airmen, assigned to the 302nd Communications Flight, set up an antenna for radio communications during Exercise AL24 in Tamale, Ghana, May 13. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
Photo 5 of 6
U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24) shows U.S. Air Force airmen of the 302nd Communications Flight, Master Sgt. Daniel Wagoner, noncommissioned officer in charge of communications infrastructure, and Senior Airman Derek Bautista, a data operations technician, how to find the elevation they need to set the antenna to get a good signal from the satellite during AL24 in Tamale, Ghana, May 13. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
Photo 6 of 6
U.S. Army Southern European Task
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Monterroso, the communications manager for the Ghana spoke of African Lion 2024 (AL24) determines the direction to face the antenna for clear signal to a satellite during Exercise AL24 in Tamale, Ghana, May 13. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of AFRICOM’s premier and largest annual combined, joint exercise, African Lion. This year’s exercise is scheduled from April 29 to May 31 and is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, with more than 8,100 participants from over 27 countries, including contingents from NATO. African Lion 24 aims to enhance readiness between the U.S. and partner nation forces. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cade Castillo)
Photo by: Spc. Cade Castillo
ACCRA, Ghana — As the tactical communications manager for the Ghana spoke of exercise African Lion 2024 (AL24), U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Fabricio Monterroso, a signal specialist with U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), faced an immense challenge: ensuring seamless communications and connectivity for the hundreds of multinational participants spread across multiple remote Ghanaian training areas.
Amid the intensity and numerous responsibilities, Monterroso brought an upbeat attitude and sense of humor, which served as a tonic for those around him. His approachable nature and eternal optimism, no matter the obstacle, reminded everyone that the SETAF-AF mission extends beyond just technical expertise.
"My role is to create that command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) capability for the exercise, but I also see it as uplifting those around me," said the Los Angeles native with an infectious grin. "A positive mindset, humor and resiliency towards any challenge - that's essential for success when you're in an environment like African Lion."
Challenges are nothing new to Monterroso.
“Being a first-generation Hispanic American and growing up financially challenged, I always had to make the best of the situation and belongings I had,” he explained.
Coming from a family with a father, mother and three sisters, he was the first to join the military. He went on to become soldier of the year, noncommissioned officer of the year and drill sergeant of the year. Adding to his accomplishments, he also attained the expert soldier’s badge.
Monterroso joined the Army in 2003 and has deployed and mobilized multiple times to Iraq, Italy and across Africa in support of communications and theater operations. He supported previous exercises such as Special Operations Command-Africa's exercise Flintlock and other country sites participating in African Lion. Drawing from those experiences, he addressed the undeniable difficulties of establishing connectivity in Ghana's austere environments.
"Let's be real - maintaining signal and data flows across this vast training area with limited infrastructure is hugely challenging," he admitted. "But that's precisely why mastering these skills is so vital; it prepares us to accomplish the mission using the Army’s equipment for any contingency operation the Army encounters."
Highly trained in various technical disciplines as a noncommissioned officer, he also attained a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and statistics. Monterroso led teams rigging sophisticated networking equipment like satellite antennae and mobile communications nodes. His technical acumen in linking radio, data, and voice systems into a seamless network, enabling command and control for the large-scale joint exercise.
Outside these professional duties, however, Monterroso's outgoing personality and quirky sense of humor made him universally popular. Whether it was his witty quips which raised morale, or mentoring young soldiers to stay resilient, Monterroso's intangible qualities were a force multiplier.
"When stress levels rise, you have to find ways to band together through some laughter and camaraderie," he said. "The Army doesn't just need technical experts, but well-rounded leaders creating a positive team environment."
As his time at AL24 draws to a close, Monterroso reflected on his SETAF-AF experience with pride and optimism. The exercise validated capabilities while affording him the opportunity to serve as an ambassador for the Army's values through his own personable nature.
"At the end of the day, we're ambassadors not just militarily, but as human beings representing the best of America's military," said Monterroso. "That's a role I take immense pride in always."
About SETAF-AF
SETAF-AF serves as a dedicated headquarters under U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe & Africa, coordinating Army activities across Africa to provide scalable crisis response options.
For further details on SETAF-AF's activities, please visit www.setaf-africa.army.mil.
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