JOINT DRILL CONCLUDES WITH LIVE AMMUNITION

From page 1 Lt Col Peter Winton, Media EX SS3, British Forces Sareea 3, said, “Working with Oman is the demonstration of our commitment to the Gulf security. Our friendship with Oman is longstanding; now, it has reached this level of complexity and commitment.” Answering Observer’s question on the six-week experience, Lt Col Winton said, “It has been a challenging environment. It has been a test for the personnel and the equipment. We have been out in the desert, living on vehicles and working on vehicles and that has been the real success. The guys have enjoyed the challenge and they have come through happy and smiling.”

When asked about the learning experience, the Lt Col Winton said, “I think it is a complexity of bringing together so many different aspects together. In the skies, we have got the Typhoons, the fighter aircraft of both Royal Air Force of Oman and Royal Air Force and tankers Challenger 2 on the ground, manoeuvring alongside one another. In the sea, once again it was the Royal Navy and Royal Navy of Oman. It has been a difficult challenge but we have come through together successfully.”

The joint military drills are considered the biggest of its kind in the history of the Sultanate, in which different types of equipment and weapons were tested.

The preparation has been on for more than five years, said Lt Col Rob Brown, Lead UK Planned for EX SS3. “To go through all these weeks what we had planned and culminating today successfully in Mahout is a great feeling. The best aspect, I think, has been the relationship we have developed with the Omanis and to sit with people whom I have worked with for so long and to share the experience of coming from planning to all the way to execution is rewarding.”

During these exercises, training was done at all levels, strategic, operational and tactical. All operations such as diplomatic, economic, information and military were activated.

More than 70,000 participants from the Sultanate, including different military, security and civil agencies, in addition to 5,500 participants from the British Royal Armed Forces, took part in the exercises. The finale concluded with a fly past.