Pakistan, U.S. Partner for Aviation Exercise

By Unipath On Apr 13, 2016

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MAJ. ANGEL JACKSON/U.S. ARMY CENTRAL

Pakistan Army Soldiers joined U.S. Army Central (USARCENT) and members of the South Carolina Army National Guard at exercise Inspired Gambit 15. The exercise was held in the United States in September 2015 at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina.

Inspired Gambit is a bilateral exercise with Pakistan focused on aviation support to counterinsurgency operations. The exercise included explosive ordinance disposal and public affairs information exchanges.

Brig. Gen. Nasir Saleem Akhtar, Pakistan’s 303rd Aviation Group commander, said integrated planning by Pakistan and the U.S. was the mainstay of the exercise. He added that the smooth and rapid transition of both staffs was encouraging and aided mutual learning.

“The fact that it all transpired in an atmosphere of great trust and friendship really emerges as the heart of this exercise,” Brig. Gen. Akhtar said. “I sincerely hope that the understanding, confidence, and friendship developed in the course of the exercise shall go a long way in fostering mutual ties between both the countries to have common interests in building peace and stability worldwide in general, and in South Asia in particular.”

Brig. Gen. R. Van McCarty, assistant adjutant general of the South Carolina Army National Guard, discussed the need to train on complex operational systems during the exercise.

“We need to find ways to train, take the initiative, and, where we can have partners involved, we need to do so because that’s where we build the future,” he said.

Military-to-military exercises like Inspired Gambit 15 serve as training opportunities to strengthen tactical proficiency in critical mission areas and support long-term regional stability.

“In the aviation community, a lot of your tactics, techniques and procedures are very similar, but there are differences,” said Col. David Wilson, USARCENT International Military Affairs division chief. “It’s exercises like this that help to identify those differences so that we can get back to common understanding.”