Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Dean Gannon | Egyptian Special Operations Forces prepare to rappel down and enter the side of a...... read more read more
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Alexandria, Egypt – United States Special Operations Forces joined their Egyptian and partner nation counterparts for Bright Star 2021, a combined military exercise from Sept. 2-16, at Mohamed Naguib Military Base. Egypt has hosted each rendition of the exercise dating back to 1980 in close coordination with U.S. Central Command, after the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979.
Last convened in 2018, the multi-lateral exercise requires a wealth of personnel, resources and support to execute.
“This has been a long time in planning,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Euclides Sanchez, U.S. Special Operations Command Central lead planner for the exercise. “It’s been almost two years now, since November 2019. Even with the pandemic and real world operations, we were still able to have all the equipment and SOF on the ground in order to have a successful execution for BS21. We had more SOF on the ground than in 2018.”
SOF elements took advantage of the training opportunities by focusing on interoperability and cycling through multiple weapon systems using sniper teams, vehicle and dismounted maneuvering, and reflexive fire techniques. This year’s event also saw SOF investing heavily in a Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) scenario, medical training, several airborne operational jumps and a full-scale assault on a village using Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training.
The exercise was designed around the premise of bolstering multi-lateral interoperability to counter regional, hybrid and irregular wartime threats. The impacts of BS21 left a marked impression on those participating and stand as a definitive statement of partnership within the region.
“Bright Star 21 was a really good experience for me and my men,” said a U.S. Special Forces team leader. “It definitely demonstrated that there’s a partnership and capability to work with Egypt and other countries in the Levant to counter threats in the region.”
Similar sentiments were echoed from the tactical up to the strategic levels.
“Seeing our partner nations having good ties with the United States, as well as other countries’ SOF like Jordan, Cyprus and Greece, is a big success,” said Sanchez. “We’ve worked with them before and it makes it seamless when they’re here with us, working together.”
Bright Star is generally held in the summer every two years and is next scheduled for 2023.
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2021 11:11 |
| Story ID: | 405726 |
| Location: | ALEXANDRIA, EG |
| Web Views: | 400 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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