DR. KHALID BIN MOHAMMED AL ATTIYAH, QATARI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENSE AFFAIRS The year 2022 was a particularly special one for the State of Qatar, as we geared up to host World Cup 2022. I echo His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad in saying that we are extremely proud of the developments made by the State of Qatar and are thankful for the spotlight provided by the World Cup that has inspired and expedited our country’s developments in many areas, chiefly in infrastructure and policy. Sports has an extraordinary effect on people; it…
Unipath
When a state stoked ethnic tensions to instigate a civil war in a bordering country, an international military coalition formed to prevent the conflict from engulfing the entire region. Coalition forces consisting of a Tajik infantry regiment, a Pakistani special operations regiment, a Kazakh infantry regiment, an Uzbek mechanized infantry regiment, two Mongolian special operations companies, a United States mechanized infantry regiment and two NATO regiments deployed as peacekeeping troops. The enemy’s use of asymmetrical warfare — social media propaganda, terrorist bombings and other unconventional tactics — meant coalition forces couldn’t rely on force alone to respond to realistic threats.…
Brig. Gen. Faisal Al-Jumai, Yemen National Representative to USCENTCOM Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES Lt. Gen. Sagheer Hammoud bin Aziz stands at the top of the Yemeni Army as chief of the General Staff and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, crowning a military career that began in high school in 1983, when he embarked upon a rich journey between military and civilian life in Amran governorate in the north of the Republic of Yemen. Lt. Gen. bin Aziz descends from the Sufyan tribe, one of the main pillars of the Bakil tribe in Yemen. He was born in 1967, and his…
LT. COL. Dr. Khalid Mohamed Alqahtani, BAHRAIN Defence FORCE When considering the intelligence field, psychological studies show that the human mind struggles to provide useful and unbiased analysis unless rigorously shaped using professional tools and techniques of the intelligence craft. These tangible and intangible tools ultimately validate their effectiveness if they produce clear and correct results valuable to the user of intelligence reports. This new era in intelligence science requires an openness to information from many sources. Rigid thinking — accepting only facts that narrowly conform to prejudices — should be cast aside. Analysts must possess the mental and emotional…
Unipath Staff On October 19, 2022, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), conducted a visit aboard the USS West Virginia, a U.S. Navy Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at an undisclosed location at sea in international waters in the Arabian Sea. Kurilla was joined on the USS West Virginia by Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and U.S. Navy Central. During his visit onboard the submarine, Gen. Kurilla received a hands-on demonstration of the capabilities of the vessel, which operates globally under U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). “I was thoroughly impressed with…
UNIPATH STAFF Several years after forming its National Space Science Agency (NSSA), Bahrain became the second Arab nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led agreement to create internationally recognized rules for space exploration. Mohamed Al Aseeri, head of the Bahrain space agency, signed the accords in March 2022 during a session of the U.S.-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue. The country deployed its first satellite, called Light-1, in February 2022. The jointly financed Bahraini-Emirati project aims to measure atmospheric gamma rays. “I am so pleased to see Bahrain has shown its commitment to the peaceful exploration of space by signing the Artemis…
The State Partnership Program between the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan and the Mississippi National Guard has yielded spectacular results for more than 10 years. The program matches National Guard units from particular U.S. states with partner countries around the world to build security cooperation. Between 2012 and 2022, Mississippi and Uzbekistan have engaged in 198 events, 44 key leader engagements, 51 bilateral conferences and four different recurring military exercises, including U.S. Central Command’s Regional Cooperation exercise. “I am thankful for 10 years of extraordinary partnership with the leaders and service members of Uzbekistan,” Mississippi National Guard Adjutant General Maj.…
Rear Adm. Mohammed Yousif Al Asam joined the Bahrain Defence Force in 1979 as an officer candidate and was sent to the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi, where he graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in marine science. He progressed through numerous positions aboard naval missile boats as a navigation officer and operations officer until he assumed command of his first ship in 1993 with his appointment to the missile boat al-Jabri. Further ship commands awaited him — including aboard the frigate Sabha — until he took charge of Bahrain’s Special Naval Group in 2009. Two years later he…
Kazakhstan has received hand-launched remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor its borders for criminal and terrorist activity, the U.S. Embassy in Astana announced in May 2022. The “Raven” UAV system is used widely by armed forces around the world. Weighing 1.9 kilograms apiece, the drones are lightweight, easy to use and suitable for low-altitude day and night surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Ravens transmit color and/or infrared images in real time to ground control stations and remote surveillance stations. The number of drones the U.S. supplied to Kazakhstan was not reported. Following the delivery of the UAVs to Kazakhstan, the…
In a weapons deal worth more than $1.6 billion, Egypt is set to import South Korean equipment to maintain the fight against local and global terrorism. A summit held in Cairo between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi led to the announcement that Egypt would buy K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled howitzers from South Korea’s Hanwha Defense Co. The agreement, signed in February 2022, includes a transfer of technology so that Egypt can manufacture some of the artillery through the Egyptian Ministry of Defense and Military Production. “It is an achievement made through a combination of…