Qatari and U.S. Special Forces Practice Counterterrorism in This Bilateral Military Exercise
UNIPATH STAFF
Qatari and U.S. special forces helicopters, snipers and assault teams closed in on Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
It was part of a training scenario — meant to mimic the setting of World Cup 2022 — that Qatar requested in preparation for the celebrated international football tournament.
Invincible Sentry 19, an annual crisis response exercise sponsored by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), attracted hundreds of troops from Qatari Joint Special Forces and U.S. special forces from March 21 to 27, 2019.
Soldiers conducted operations across Qatar focused on thwarting a simulated attack from an unnamed terrorist network intent on disrupting society. Working in tandem, Qatari and U.S. forces defeated the would-be terrorists.
“Invincible Sentry 2019 was a historic exercise with one of our most important security and military partners in the region, the state of Qatar,” said William Grant, charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Doha.
“Both U.S. and Qatari forces have come out of this exercise better coordinated, more in-sync, and stronger in every respect to respond to security threats in the region. We are especially grateful to Qatar for hosting the 2019 Invincible Sentry exercise in coordination with CENTCOM.”
Bilateral exercises allow combined forces to improve communications and interoperability — despite language, cultural and equipment barriers — to complete a mission. At Invincible Sentry 19, multinational forces needed to infiltrate and destroy terrorists.
“What we bring to the fight, by doing everything with and through our partners, is a capability that far outweighs our small teams,” a U.S. special operations forces commander said. “We’d like to think some conflicts will never come to fruition because of our persistent engagement at key locations around the world.”
The United States and Qatar cooperate on a variety of security issues in the Arabian Gulf. CENTCOM maintains a forward headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar. Al Udeid Air Base hosts thousands of troops from Qatar’s coalition partners.
Since 1992, the U.S. and Qatar have intensified their military-to-military relationship through combined exercises. The U.S. military participates in more than 80 exercises each year with partner nations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
Regional exercises are designed to strengthen military-to-military relationships, promote regional security and improve interoperability among partner nations.