Juniper Cobra 2014 officially begins

Photo By John Wollaston | Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, Commanding General Joint Defense Force Israel, U.S. Navy Forces Europe Commander Admiral Bruce Clingan and U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro listen to a briefing on the progress of training during Juniper Cobra 2014. JC 14 is a biennial combined U.S. and Israeli air defense exercise aimed at improving the ability of the two countries ability to protect Israel from the threat of ballistic missiles.  

HATZOR AIRBASE, ISRAEL

05.21.2014

Story by Sgt. 1st Class John Wollaston 

10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command

HATZOR AIR BASE, Israel – One of the largest joint military exercises between the U.S. and Israel held its opening ceremony last Thursday at this remote airbase outside of Tel Aviv.

Operation Juniper Cobra 14, brings together Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines from U.S. European Command as well as U.S. based units with their Israel Defense Force partners in a biennial joint missile defense exercise aimed at improving cohesion and interoperatibility between the two nations in the event of a ballistic missile attack against Israel.

Approximately seven hundred Americans, including 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command Soldiers, are on the ground in Israel participating in the exercise, using computer simulated ballistic missile attacks on Israel from a number of locations in the Middle East.

“This exercise is a great way to work out how the this unit would fight an air battle in a wartime scenario with our counterparts in the IDF,” said Col. Gregory Brady, commander of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command organized as Task Force Ballistic Missile Defense. “This exercise improves the capacity for both nations to work together and improve our ability to jointly stop a missile attack on Israel.”

In addition to improving the working relationship between the two militaries, Juniper Cobra deepens the personal relationships soldiers from both nations enjoy.

“The U.S. has traditionally had strong ties to Israel and working together in exercises such as this only strengthens the ties between the U.S. and Israeli military forces,” Brady said. “But more importantly these are two nations that have shared values and vision. And it’s important to reinforce those shared ideals with events like Juniper Cobra.”

Brady and his air defenders held a command post exercise in February at their headquarters at Rhine Ordinance Barracks. It simulated everything they would face at Juniper Cobra, right down to the size and layout of the operations center.

“We were able to get the exact measurements of the building we’re using here at Hatzor Airbase and simulate that in a warehouse back at R.O.B.,” Brady said. “Then we laid out everything exactly like we wanted it when we hit the ground here in Israel. Then when our advanced team arrived and began to set up the operations center, they already knew what part went where and setup time was greatly improved.”

This year’s exercise comes at a pivotal time in the Middle East. While Juniper Cobra 14 is going on, the P5+1 nuclear talks with Iran will be going on in Paris. The demonstrations of strong partnership between the U.S. and Israel at this critical time marks an important piece of diplomacy for both nations in addition to reassuring the Israeli people that the U.S. is committed to the security of Israel.

Soldiers from the10th AAMDC have been on the ground since late April preparing for the exercise and it’s scheduled to wrap up by the end of May.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2014
• Date Posted: 05.22.2014 02:48
• Story ID: 130727
• Location: HATZOR AIRBASE, IL