Operation Bright Star
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (November 2007) |
The American military gives the name Operation Bright Star to two different operations:
1. A large U.S. Air Force training exercise conducted in August, 1960. The co-incident Army training was called Operation Pine Cone II.
2. A series of biennial combined and joint training exercises by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt. These exercises began in 1981. Designed to strengthen ties between the Egyptian and American militaries and demonstrate and enhance the ability of the Americans to reinforce their allies in the Middle East in the event of war; these deployments usually are centered at the large Cairo West Air Base. During the period following the liberation of Kuwait (Operation Desert Storm), these exercises grew larger and have included as many as 10 countries and 70,000 personnel.
Other allied nations also join Bright Star exercises in Egypt including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Operation
Bright Star is a joint exercise including air, ground, and naval elements. It is a central method for United States Central Command to build cooperation and readiness of allied nations within and around the Middle East.
Specifically, the exercise consists of coalition interoperability training, called Affiliation Training to teach nations how to operate with one another in a wartime environment, a Command Post Exercise designed to help standardize command and control procedures, and a large scale Field Training Exercise to practice everything together.
[edit] History
The exercise is rooted in the Camp David Accords. After its signing the military forces of Egypt and the United States agreed to conduct coalition training in Egypt. The first exercise was conducted in summer 1980 and only involved ground forces from the two principal nations. The following year a similar exercise was held using the same ground rules. By 1983 however, the size of the forces involved prompted planners to hold the event every two years rather than annually. The exercise went under further evolution in 1985 with the inclusion of the American and Egyptian Air Forces. The respective navies and special forces joined the exercise in 1987. After the 1989 event the exercise was moved from the summer to the fall.[1]
[edit] Bright Star 95
Nearly 60,000 troops took part in the revived Bright Star Exercise in autumn 1994 and included the first nations other than Egypt and the United States.
[edit] Bright Star 97
During the 97 exercise the US Air Force encountered a fuel shortage. Their Egyptian counterparts demonstrated an ability to blend Jet A-1 fuel with additives to produce the JP-8 required by US aircraft.
[edit] Bright Star 98
The 1998 event focused on naval and amphibious warfare. It included the USS George Washington and USS John F. Kennedy Battle Groups and the Guam Amphibious Ready Group.
[edit] Bright Star 2000
The largest Bright Star exercise took place in October and November 1999 involving 11 nations and 70,000 personnel. A further 32 nations sent observers to monitor the exercise including Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, China, Congo, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
The exercise scenario involved a fictional hostile nation named "Orangeland" invading Egypt and trying to take control of the Nile River. The exercise coalition worked together, practicing fighting in the air, land, and sea domains, to defend the Nile and expel Orangeland.
A key piece of the training was a six-nation amphibious assault led by the Royal Navy.
[edit] Bright Star 02
Despite the events of 11 September 2001 the US sent 23,000 troops to participate in Bright Star in October and November 2001. Elements of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment joined coalition partners to continue strengthing US-Arab ties.
[edit] Bright Star 04
The US did not participate in the exercise scheduled for fall 2003 due to high military commitments Afghanistan War and the Iraq War.
Bright Star 07
The U.S. military participated in Operation Bright Star in 2007. Among the participants was the 42nd Infantry Division, NY Army National Guard, the only U.S. National Guard division headquarters to deploy to Iraq.
[edit] References
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The Bright Star exercises are named for the fiscal year that they fall in, consequently they take place in the claendar year before their number would indicate. For example, Bright Star 95 actually took place in the fall of 1994.
