Morocco participates in US-sponsored exercise Eager Lion in Jordan
Morocco is taking part, along the United States, Jordan, and other partner nations in the two-week Exercise Eager Lion that kicked off this Sunday in Jordan.
Eager Lion, held September 4-15, 2022, represents one of the largest military exercises in the region, and is designed to exchange military expertise and improve interoperability among partner nations, including operations on combating terrorism and threats of weapons of mass destruction.
The Jordanian army said, in a statement, that this tenth session of the exercises organized on the territory of the Kingdom September 4 to 15, aims to “joint work in the field of combating terrorism, developing security capabilities, and cooperating between agencies and institutions of different countries to respond to security threats and internal crises.”
“Eager Lion is a multifaceted event that demonstrates our commitment to partnerships and responsive joint forces operating in complex environments that offer no easy victories or quick wins,” said Maj. Gen. Steven J. deMilliano, Director of Exercises and Training Directorate, United States Central Command. “More broadly, partnerships enable militaries to grow capabilities and quickly respond to demanding crisis situations.”
The exercise underscores the United States’ commitment to partners in the Middle East and joint defense against hybrid threats by state and non-state actors. As we face rising aggressive actions by malign forces around the world, these partnerships enable us to meet new and continuing threats together, the US Central Command said in a press release.
This 10th iteration of Eager Lion will include a long-range bomber mission, cyber threats from fictitious adversaries, interagency communication and coordination, counterterrorism skills development, integrated air and missile defense synchronization, advancing proficiencies for maritime and border security, disaster response, and humanitarian aid, the press release added.
This year’s scenario will test interoperability addressing regional challenges across air, land, sea and cyber domains. The exercise construct will consist of a field training exercise with a combined-arms live-fire exercise, command post exercise, and a senior leader seminar to facilitate information sharing from the tactical to the strategic levels.
Approximately 1,700 U.S. service members, 2,200 Jordanian Armed Forces, and 591 coalition personnel from 28 other partner nations are participating or observing the multilateral military training exercise, which was scheduled for 2021, but postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the central command said.
Besides Morocco and Jordan, other Arab countries participating in the military drills include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.
