Army chief of staff meets US general

KUWAIT: Kuwait Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Mohammad Khaled Al-Kheder meets his counterpart at the US Central Command Lt Gen Michael X Garrett yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Approximately 400 US military personnel joined Kuwaiti security forces from Aug 9 to 16 for Invincible Sentry 2018 (IS 18), a crisis response exercise conducted by US Central Command in coordination with other US government agencies and the government of Kuwait. An exercise consisting of simulated scenarios to facilitate a coordinated partner response to transnational terrorism, Invincible Sentry is a regularly scheduled event between US Central Command and individual partner nations. The government of Kuwait agreed to host IS 18, the US Embassy in Kuwait said in a press statement.

The majority of this year's exercise will be conducted at military training areas and other remote locations throughout Kuwait, with a small headquarters element participating at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The US military participates in more than 80 exercises with partner nations in the US Central Command area of responsibility each year. Exercises in the region are designed to strengthen military-to-military relationships, promote regional security and improve interoperability with partner nations.

As indicated in the joint statement following the second US-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue in Washington in Sept 2017, the United States and Kuwait remain committed to enhancing a long-term partnership. The United States is proud to have contributed to the liberation of Kuwait over 27 years ago, and reiterates its commitment to Kuwait's security. Invincible Sentry 18 aims at expanding the military-to-military engagements, enhancing mutual capabilities to keep our people safe, and promoting long-term regional stability and joint-operations between the United States and Kuwait, the US Embassy statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Mohammad Khaled Al-Kheder met in his office yesterday his counterpart at the US Central Command Lt Gen Michael X Garrett and his accompanying delegation. During their meeting, both sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen military cooperation, in addition to other topics of mutual interests, the directorate of moral guidance and public relations at the ministry of defense said in a press statement. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff Gen Abdullah Nawaf Al-Sabah, Joint Training Director Brig Fawaz Al-Harbi and the Chief of the Military Cooperation Office at the US Embassy in Kuwait Brig Gen Randolph J Staudenraus. - Agencies