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Task Force Spartan units build combined arms interoperability with Qatari military during Al Adheed 2023 exercise

Task Force Spartan units build combined arms interoperability with Qatari military during 2023 Al Adheed exercise

Photo By Master Sgt. Doug Roles | A Qatari tank crew fires a round at a target during the combined arms life fire... ... read more read more

Photo By Master Sgt. Doug Roles | A Qatari tank crew fires a round at a target during the combined arms life fire exercise at Al Qalayel Training Area on June 1, 2023. U.S. Army Soldiers from Task Force Spartan trained with Qatar Emiri Forces during the Al Adheed 2023 exercise from mid-May to early June. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Doug Roles)   see less | View Image Page

Story by Master Sgt. Doug Roles  

Task force spartan.

army task force spartan

By Master Sgt. Doug Roles Task Force Spartan public affairs Soldiers with Task Force Spartan and the Qatar Emiri Special Forces trained together from mid-May to early June during the Qatari’s annual Al Adheed exercise that demonstrated the interoperability of the two forces. The exercise culminated June 1 with a combined arms live fire exercise (CALFEX) at the Al Qalayel Training Area. Training began at Camp Um Hawta as Soldiers with Task Force Blackjack, part of Task Force Spartan, conducted integrated company-team training internally before moving into joint field training and ultimately rehearsals for the CALFEX. Qatari and U.S. military leaders observed the CALFEX from a reviewing stand overlooking a vast desert training corridor. “The biggest thing, across the board, was that it’s a partnership. This training is about enabling that partnership to continue,” said Capt. Ismael Rivera, commander of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, (Task Force Blackjack), a California National Guard unit. A challenge for Rivera was that of the two U.S. platoons involved in the exercise, one is organic to his Delta Company and the other is comprised of armored cavalry reconnaissance Soldiers serving as a security force with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment (Task Force Red Thunder), 45th Field Artillery Brigade, Oklahoma National Guard. The Red Thunder element also included sniper teams who trained with their Qatari counterparts. Rivera noted that integrating a platoon from outside his company while also learning to work with Qatari leaders “was kind of weird at first.” “It’s been good, though. It was a bit shaky but smoothed out,” Rivera said. “One of my biggest things was developing TTPs [tactics, techniques and procedures] within our platoon.” The Al Adheed exercise gave Rivera’s troops the opportunity to practice maneuvering in wide open spaces. It also provided plenty of time for familiarization on firing of Mark 19 grenade launchers, M2 .50 caliber and M240B 7.62mm machine guns from atop High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, or HMMWVs. Soldiers trained on each weapon system and during night-time live fire and developed proficiency by firing more rounds than on a typical annual qualification range. “We did a round robin,” said Staff Sgt. Rodney Genao, platoon sergeant for Delta Company. “For guys that have not been activated before, they had to really learn their weapons and work through jams.” “There was a lot of excitement,” he added. “The live [fire] made up for all the hard-work and preparation.” Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Olvera, a platoon leader with Delta Company, said the U.S. Army Soldiers had opportunities to meet with their Qatari counterparts during training events and downtime. Working with Qatari counterparts at a Soldier level helped reach the overall goal of increased partnership through capability demonstration. “A lot of it happens naturally through guys saying, ‘Come check out our equipment,’” Olvera said. “I knew they’d be well equipped. They [the QELF] have very nice equipment.” The CALFEX scenario saw Qatari armored personnel carriers make and then break contact with an enemy position (denoted by targets) in the training corridor. After the APCs withdrew, Qatari Rafale fighter jets and Apache helicopters supported a tank attack, after which the APCs and the U.S. platoons reengaged the target area. “Basically, we’re the lowest level of fire initiating the fire. Then the tanks roll through, then the helicopters, to show the combined assets of the two countries,” Genoa said. “Shoot, move and communicate goes beyond language barriers.” First held five years ago, Al Adheed is one of two annual Qatari military exercises. TF Spartan previously participated in 2019, prior to COVID limiting exercise participation. For that Al Adheed event, the 18th Field Artillery Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, integrated with a Qatar Emiri Land Forces (QELF) battalion for a bilateral validation of the truck-mounted high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS). For the 2023 event, TF Blackjack/Red Thunder units trained with a Qatari Special Forces task force organized specifically for the event and assigned to the bin Jassim Al Thani Brigade. Task Force Spartan is a unique multicomponent organization, made up of active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve units. Through Operation Spartan Shield (OSS), Task Force Spartan maintains a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia sufficient to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity.

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IMAGES

  1. Task Force Spartan participates in missile defense exercise

    army task force spartan

  2. Task Force Spartan Soldiers perform an Emergency Deployment Readiness

    army task force spartan

  3. Task Force Spartan Soldiers perform an Emergency Deployment Readiness

    army task force spartan

  4. Combined Task Force Spartan completes Afghanistan mission

    army task force spartan

  5. Task Force Spartan leaders uncase brigade colors

    army task force spartan

  6. Allies Visit Task Force Spartan Mobile Command Post > U.S. Army Central

    army task force spartan

COMMENTS

  1. Task Force Spartan

    Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization, made up of active Army and National Guard units, rounded out by U.S. Army Reserve support units.. Through Operation Spartan Shield (OSS), Task Force Spartan maintains a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia sufficient to strengthen our defense relationships and build partner capacity.

  2. Task Force Spartan: Always Ready

    Task Force Spartan: Always Ready. By Marshall Mason September 15, 2021. Share on Twitter; ... to validate 22nd Chemical Battalion for an upcoming mission. (U.S. Army photo by Marshall R. Mason ...

  3. Operation Spartan Shield

    [citation needed] Task Force Spartan is the U.S. Army component of OSS. [citation needed] The 408th Contracting Support Brigade supports contracting requirements for Operation Spartan Shield, described in Army Lawyer as "USARCENT's steady state operation to Build Partner Capacity [that is, to conduct Capacity building) in the Middle East."

  4. Like Clockwork: Task Force Spartan Soldiers a source of power

    1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption - Fire erupts from the barrel of an M1 Abrams main battle tank, as Soldiers of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Spartan, engage targets during ...

  5. Task Force Spartan changes hands

    Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization, made up of active Army and National Guard units, rounded out by U.S. Army Reserve support units. ... August 11, 2016 U.S. Army STAND ...

  6. Task Force Spartan Crisis Response Task Force trains in Kuwait

    Task Force Spartan Soldiers with U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve units from New York, California, and Puerto Rico participated in the exercise. "The VALEX confirms for the higher echelon command that we are confident and capable to perform the mission that we are assigned," said Capt. Robert Parry, operations officer with 1st ...

  7. 29ID assumes authority of Task Force Spartan

    Task Force Spartan is a multi-component organization, comprised of Soldiers from all three Army components: Active Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve. Exercising command and control over Operation Spartan Shield, Task Force Spartan maintains a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia sufficient to strengthen U.S. defense relationships and ...

  8. Task Force Spartan Soldier conquers ARCENT Best Warrior Competition

    Omar H. Dacosta, an infantryman with Company A., 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Task Force Spartan, is recognized as the winner of the Soldier category of the U.S. Army Central ...

  9. A partnership story, the U.S. and the UAE

    Task Force Spartan is a U.S. Army organization built on partnerships, especially enduring ones with militaries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia where TF Spartan supports Operation Spartan Shield, the mission to strengthen our defense relationships and build partner capacity in these areas.

  10. 28th Infantry takes over Task Force Spartan > U.S. Army Central

    Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization made up of active Army and National Guard units and rounded out by U.S. Army Reserve support units. Garrett said Task Force Spartan epitomizes a total Army effort and "serves as proof positive that without the reserve components in our force structure, we would long ago have failed ...

  11. Task Force Spartan changes hands

    Lt. Gen. Michael X. Garrett, commander of U.S. Army Central, gives a few remarks during the Task Force Spartan transfer of authority ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, July 13, 2017. The 29th Infantry Division handed over control of Task Force Spartan, part of Operation Spartan Shield, to the 35th Infantry Division.

  12. Maj. Gen. Hamilton assumes command of Task Force Spartan

    CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - The 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, assumed command of Task Force Spartan at a transfer of authority ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Nov. 19, 2020. The event oversaw the command of the task force transfer from the leadership of Maj. Gen. Steven Ferrari, commanding general of 42nd Infantry Division to ...

  13. 'Red Bulls' deploy in support of Spartan Shield

    The Red Bulls will then take over for the California National Guard's 40th Infantry Division, becoming Task Force Spartan, a unique, multi-component organization, made up of active Army and ...

  14. Task Force Spartan hosts first bilateral exercise since advent of COVID

    ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Soldiers from the United States' Task Force Spartan and the United Arab Emirates Land Forces gathered from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6, 2021, at Al Hamra Training ...

  15. 38th ID assumes authority of Task Force Spartan in the Middle East

    Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization, made up of active Army and National Guard units, rounded out by U.S. Army Reserve support units. The soldiers' mission is to help build partner capacity in the Middle East, to promote regional self-reliance, deter regional aggression and to increase security.

  16. Task Force Spartan hosts first large-scale exercise since COVID-19

    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 02.11.2021 - ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Soldiers from the United States' Task Force Spartan and the United Arab Emirates Land Forces gathered from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6, 2021, at Al Hamra Training Center in the United Arab Emirates for Iron Union 14, the first bi-lateral training exercise between the forces since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  17. DVIDS

    12.31.2023 | Story by Sgt. Joaquin Vasquez-Duran. Choreographing the Puzzle of Multinational Military Exercises. Task Force Spartan 40th Infantry Division achieves international mil-to-mil ...

  18. Task Force Spartan works to protect Soldiers from COVID-19

    Maj. Jean Kratzer of Task Force Spartan washes her hands at the entrance of a dining facility in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. ... Task Force Spartan Shield is the Army's lead ...

  19. Task Force Spartan participates in missile defense exercise

    The 130th Field Artillery Brigade of Task Force Spartan participated in an Air and Missile Defense Exercise (AMDEX 21), a U.S.-led event that develops tactics against simulated air and missile threats, April 12 - 23, 2021., ... "One hurdle was syncing Air Force terminology to Army verbiage,' said Sprawka. "While this was a challenge, we ...

  20. 3rd SFAB supports CENTCOM objectives

    The geographic proximity and relationship to Task Force Spartan, U.S. Army Central's forward operational presence in the region, also positions the SFAB for mission success. This particular force-package deployment of SFAB teams to the CENTCOM area is significant because it includes engagements with countries beyond Afghanistan and Iraq, said ...

  21. Task Force Spartan works to protect Soldiers from COVID-19

    "We recently stood up the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center, also referred to as the CEOC," said Maj. Brian Baglin, a medical plans officer assigned to Task Force Spartan Shield. "For all intents and purposes, Task Force Spartan Shield is the Army's lead agency for coordinating and synchronizing a unified response plan within the region."

  22. DVIDS

    Task Force Spartan is a unique multicomponent organization, made up of active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve units. Through Operation Spartan Shield (OSS), Task Force Spartan maintains a U ...

  23. Task Force 51/5 Conducts Joint Training with U.S. Army

    Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization, made up of Active Army and National Guard units, and rounded out by U.S. Army Reserve support units. Through Operation Spartan Shield, Task Force Spartan maintains a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia sufficient to strengthen U.S. defense relationships and build partner capacity.