Blackhawk helicopter pilots develop their skills to support ground troops and combat terrorism LT. JACK MCCAIN, U.S. NAVY Photos by U.S. NAVY Stumbling off the C-17 at Kandahar Airfield in May 2018 was likely the most jarring experience of my military career. Up to that point, I had been deployed to three places as a helicopter pilot: the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Arabian Gulf. While embarking on this, my fourth deployment, the experience was wholly new and deeply different from anything I had done before. I was the only officer from the U.S. Navy assigned to the 441st…
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Eight Thousand Troops Attend Jordan’s Eager Lion 19 Exercise in a Show of Regional Unity UNIPATH STAFF They captured villages, cleared mines, scaled buildings, evacuated wounded, rescued hostages, defended coastlines, repulsed terrorists and parachuted from planes. But what the 8,000 participants at Jordan’s Eager Lion 19 military exercise achieved most of all was unity of purpose on the battlefield despite cultural, linguistic, logistical and technological differences. Twenty-nine nations combined forces across Jordan in late August and early September 2019 in a demonstration of proficiency designed to defy enemies they might encounter in the region. In addition to troops from the host…
I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to U.S. Central Command for giving me the opportunity to write the opening article for this issue. It focuses on cooperative security, which aims to achieve more international consensus and cooperation, synchronize efforts to deal with new multidimensional threats, and provide a better understanding of common challenges. Cooperative security is achieved only through partnerships and alliances between brotherly and friendly countries with common interests in security and military matters. These defensive partnerships and alliances enable member states to maintain readiness and respond rapidly to instability that threatens our common vital interests…
UNIPATH STAFF Border guard forces were the latest Jordanian Armed Forces units to take advantage of the Jordan Operational Engagement Program (JOEP), a 14-week training regimen sponsored by the United States. The program engaged troops from the Jordan Armed Forces 5th and 10th Border Guard Force Battalions in the first half of 2019. U.S. and Jordanian forces improved skills such as firing mortars, containing chemical weapons attacks, defending bases, and anti-tank combat at a live-fire range outside Amman. Troops also practiced being medics, snipers and members of machine gun teams. After graduating from the JOEP course, the border guard troops…
UNIPATH STAFF The Iraqi Army has logged significant achievements over the past few years as it has retaken Daesh-held territories. To continue such progress, the Iraqi parliament confirmed Maj. Gen. Najah al-Shammari as the new defense minister in June 2019. The post — as well as those of the interior and justice ministries — had remained vacant for several months as then Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi formed a new government. Dr. Yaseen al-Yasiri also was confirmed as interior minister and Judge Faruq Ameen as justice minister. For a country facing persistent security challenges, filling top leadership positions in the…
UNIPATH STAFF Uzbekistan conducted a series of meetings with United Nations officials to discuss regional security, countering illegal drugs and protecting the Aral Sea from environmental degradation. In April 2019, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss Uzbekistan’s ongoing contribution to stabilizing Afghanistan and the country’s promise to improve the quality of life in the Aral Sea region. The sea suffered from Soviet era diversion of water to irrigate farms throughout Central Asia. Not only has the sea partly disappeared, but the remaining water is polluted with fertilizer and pesticides. To further solidify cooperation with U.N.…
UNIPATH STAFF Lebanese Armed Forces and their Italian, French and Spanish partners conducted counterterrorism drills with field artillery, machine guns and anti-aircraft batteries in September 2019. The Iron Storm military exercise took place in South Lebanon’s Ras Nagoura district and involved European troops with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Exercise organizers simulated terrorist attacks requiring artillery and machine gun fire to repel them. Lebanese troops from the 5th and 7th infantry brigades deployed in the districts of Sour and Marjayoun for the exercise, whereas the 5th Intervention Regiment was positioned in the South Litani region. Italian, Spanish…
UNIPATH STAFF The Royal Army of Oman proved itself a champion in preparing meals for Soldiers in the field. Omani military cooks participated in an annual British competition called Exercise Army Sustainer in the United Kingdom in May 2019. Using army stoves in difficult outdoor conditions, the Omani team managed to make flat bread stuffed with vegetables, meat, dessert and other dishes that were sampled by judges in military tents. Oman, the U.K. and the United States sent participants to the exercise, designed to test each military’s ability to feed its troops in the field, sometimes by forcing cooks to…
The Arab League concluded its May 2019 summit in Mecca by condemning Iranian interference in the Arabian Gulf, Yemen and Syria. Arab leaders specifically denounced attacks launched against Saudi Arabia from Yemeni territory using Iranian-made missiles, the assaults on commercial vessels in the Arabian Gulf and Iranian support for Houthi rebels in Yemen. His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities pertaining to the Iranian sponsorship of transnational terrorism. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reiterated that the security of the Gulf Arab states is tied to the security…
UNIPATH STAFF Tajikistan hosted an international conference on countering terrorism in May 2019, warning that cooperation is necessary to prevent violent extremists from trying to topple governments in Central Asia. The conference, titled “International and Regional Cooperation on Countering Terrorism and its Financing Through Illicit Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime,” attracted representatives from about 50 countries and 25 international and regional organizations. Tajikistan helped organize the conference along with the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The conference included foreign ministers, heads of security agencies, representatives of civilian organizations and diplomats.…