Generals will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council Logistics Interoperability Symposium in Doha in December 2016
UNIPATH STAFF
Moving thousands of troops and tons of material to Yemen — part of Operation Renewal of Hope in 2015 — represented a massive undertaking by the forces of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab coalition partners.
In light of the complexity of mobilizing and equipping modern militaries, the Qatar Defense Forces and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) are co-hosting the Gulf Cooperation Council Logistics Interoperability Symposium on December 6 and 7, 2016.
The conference in Doha, Qatar, is designed for generals and flag officers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United States. Participants will learn the best ways to share information and resources during conflict and how to improve and sustain interoperability.
The symposium will incorporate practical logistics lessons gathered from the coalition’s engagement in Yemen. Some of those lessons will shape and enhance logistics planning for Eagle Resolve 17, the multilateral military exercise being held in Kuwait starting in March 2017.
“This symposium will allow all the GCC member nations and the United States to share logistics lessons learned and best practices, which improve our ability to assist each other in times of conflict,” said Maj. Gen. Aundre Piggee, U.S. Central Command’s director of logistics and engineering.
“The majority of the GCC members are currently involved in regional conflicts that require expeditionary logistics shared resources. We can learn from each other and strengthen strategic partnerships to build on for future engagements.”
Operation Renewal of Hope in Yemen has been a land, sea and air campaign to support legitimate governance in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has spearheaded operations with military support from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The intensity, duration and multinational character of the Yemen operation has added to the logistical complexity.
“CENTCOM is very interested to hear from the GCC nations about their combined logistics efforts support to operations in Yemen and support for the recent operations in Libya,” Gen. Piggee said. “Both of these operations included GCC militaries serving in a combined logistics environment and exercising new expeditionary deployment capabilities.”
Gen. Piggee also singled out Qatar’s leadership for its continued support of counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“They have been essential to the global effort to eliminate terrorist organizations and build unity amongst regional nations,” the general said. “We appreciate our Qatari counterparts agreeing to host our inaugural interoperability symposium and look forward to an exceptional experience for all participants.”
A 2015 Camp David Summit set the foundation for establishing the GCC Logistics Interoperability Symposium. A key outcome of the summit was a pledge by leaders to deepen U.S.-GCC relations on these and other issues to build an even stronger, enduring and comprehensive strategic partnership aimed at enhancing regional stability and prosperity. CENTCOM J4 has taken this initiative a step further and developed a logistics forum to bring GCC partners together to discuss and enhance logistics interoperability.
For more information on this conference, please contact