UNIPATH STAFF | Photos by SAUDI ARMED FORCES It’s a chilling scenario: A terrorist organization or malign actor launches aerial drones carrying a deadly payload of chemical weapons targeting not just military installations but also civilian neighborhoods. To prevent such scenarios involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), United States Central Command has worked shoulder to shoulder with its allies and partners in the Middle East and Central Asia, culminating in May 2024 with the successful conclusion of the Protection Shield military exercise. Held at King Fahd Military City in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, military forces and civilian agencies responded as a…
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During the Eager Lion 24 exercise held in Jordan, Unipath interviewed Brig. Gen. Hasan Al-Khalidi of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army General Command. He discussed modern challenges to designing an effective training curriculum for troops under his command. Unipath: How important are joint international exercises like Eager Lion to the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army? Brig. Gen. Hasan: In its training and security strategies, the General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army aims to promote military ties with our partners from friendly and brotherly nations. Eager Lion is one of the most important products of these partnerships that strengthen cooperation…
Article and photos by VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD The Tajik Armed Forces enriched its 21-year relationship with U.S. military partners through a series of training events in the first half of 2024 involving engineering, mountain combat, infantry tactics and battlefield communications. At the beginning of 2024, Virginia National Guard Airmen arrived in Tajikistan to conduct an exercise with Tajik combat engineers and troops with experience in explosive ordnance disposal and border protection. The partners focused their training on repairing airfield bomb craters that could prevent aircraft from landing. They also practiced erecting defensive positions should an air base come under attack…
Armies rely on logistical support because it is the artery that feeds military operations. In any operation, these forces tend to be the first troops in and the last forces out. The success of any military operation depends on the flexibility and sustainability of its logistical support network. This network supplies forces with their essential needs from locations close to the theater of operations, as well as alternative locations, in the shortest time. For this reason, armies constantly conduct exercises to test logistics capabilities. Given the importance of this topic, Unipath met with Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Samadi, chief of staff…
Threatened by terrorist organizations trying to gain a foothold on the coasts of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Yemen created the Special Operations Forces to foil the schemes of bad actors intent on destabilizing the country. To lead these specialized military units, the country elevated one of its most highly skilled commanders. Maj. Gen. Ismail Hassan Abdullah Zahzouh, who began his career as a Yemeni Air Force officer, has assumed this important role to safeguard the country during the lengthy civil war provoked by the Iran-backed Houthis. “Special Operations Forces have been able to reduce the scope of…
At the 15th Kuwaiti-U.S. Joint Military Commission (JMC) meeting held in Kuwait in May 2024, the U.S. pledged to strengthen its bilateral strategic partnership to rise to the challenges facing the region and the world. Chief of Staff of Kuwait Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Bander Salem Al Muzaien led the discussions in Kuwait City with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro. Promoting the integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the region was among topics discussed during the two days of talks. The meeting ended with the signing of numerous…
Marking the 10th anniversary of formal diplomatic consultations about issues of regional security, Turkmenistan and the United States reiterated their commitment to countering terrorism, arranging educational and cultural exchanges, promoting human rights, and expanding trade and investment. The annual bilateral discussions, held in April 2024 in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, were hosted by Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. John Mark Pommersheim, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, represented the U.S. Meredov and Pommersheim discussed issues related to combating regional and global security…
Jordanian security authorities discovered a cache of explosives in an apartment 1 kilometer from Marka Military Airport in Amman in June 2024. The investigation resulted in the discovery of more explosives two days later in a warehouse in Abu Alanda neighborhood of Amman, a few kilometers from the apartment. All of these explosives were safely detonated by the Royal Corps of Engineers, and evidence led investigators to believe that the two caches belonged to a single group of suspects. Jordanian authorities have recently thwarted several attempts to smuggle weapons, the most recent of which was in March 2024, when they…
The Kyrgyz Republic’s partnership with U.S. National Guard forces from the state of Montana continues to yield benefits for the Central Asian nation. Baktybek Amanbayev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States and Canada, arrived at Montana Technological University in May 2024 with the goal of tapping the state’s expertise in mining and engineering for the benefit of his country. The visit was the fruit of the Kyrgyz Republic’s long-term training and educational partnership with the Montana National Guard. As part of the U.S. Department of Defense State Partnership Program, Kyrgyz and U.S. troops visit…
A champion of diplomatic solutions, Qatar makes a significant contribution to international peace, exerting noticeable effort in mediating between conflicting parties in the region. Facilitating successful rounds of negotiations between warring parties has earned Qatar the trust of the international community. At the level of Arab states, Qatar hosted the 160th meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministerial Council in Doha in June 2024, under the chairmanship of Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was attended by ministers of foreign affairs of GCC member states. Following extensive discussions on the most essential…