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Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets escorted an American B-1B bomber over Israeli skies towards the Gulf. The joint flight illustrates the continued strategic cooperation of the IDF with the United States in the area. IDF reporting 30 Oct
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) began conducting a bilateral amphibious exercise in Eilat, Israel, Nov. 1.
The exercise includes military operations in urban terrain, infantry live-fire training, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire and rapid maneuvering training, as well as professional exchanges on various topics including engineering, medical and explosive ordinance disposal.
NAVCENT Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade is leading U.S. participation in the three-week exercise.
“This exercise is part of the next chapter in the U.S. Navy’s and Marine Corps’ longstanding relationship with Israel that is so vital to stability and security in the region,” said Brig. Gen. Farrell Sullivan, commanding general of the task force.
Participating U.S. forces include approximately 500 personnel from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, including one logistics battalion detachment, one infantry rifle company, a light armored reconnaissance company, and a HIMARS platoon.
The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses nearly 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab-al-Mandeb. With Israel’s addition, the region is now comprised of 21 countries. – NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, BAHRAIN
DOD moved Israel from the U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility to that of the U.S. Central Command, Jan 2021 after the Abram records were declared in August 2020 Trump administration.
The move is part of unified command plan changes.
When the Reagan administration set up Centcom in 1983, officials left Israel as part of Eucom. Arab nations, except Egypt, did not recognize the Jewish state. U.S. military coordination in the region — including multilateral exercises and operations — would have been complicated.
But as a result, Israel — though surrounded by nations that were in Centcom’s area of operations — worked through the Eucom’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
Eucom and Centcom, of course, consulted often.
The need for this set-up has changed. Jordan joined Egypt in recognizing Israel in 1994, and those were the only two Arab countries that recognized Israel until last year when the Abraham Accords were signed at the White House. Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan recognized Israel and opened full, diplomatic relations with the nation.
IDF: An aircraft carrier with hundreds of U.S. service members has arrived in Israel. We will conduct a two week joint multi-force training on dense urban area combat & multi-domain capabilities. We continue to strengthen our capabilities to counter threats in the region
Chief of the General Staff LTG Aviv Kohavi and CGO HFC Major General Ori Gordin met today with Chief of the U.S. National Guard Bureau GEN (* * * *) Daniel R. Hokanson as part of his visit to Israel’s national home front exercise.
LTG Aviv Kohavi: “Cooperation with the U.S., and the U.S. National Guard specifically, is critical to the national security of Israel. The shared work and learning process improves the strategy and endurance of both [forces] in the face of the challenges on different fronts.”
The commanders discussed shared regional challenges and the strategic importance of cooperation between our forces. GEN Hokanson was shown advanced capabilities in the field of search and rescue and new systems in the field of technology, monitoring and warning systems.
