CAMP PATRIOT, Kuwait –
More than 60 engineers in a mixed group consisting of Kuwait Land Forces (KLF) soldiers, British liaison soldiers, and engineers with the U.S. Army’s 40th Brigade Engineer Battalion, gathered for a series of interactive training opportunities during Engineer Week April 9-13. The events were intended to enhance both technical and tactical readiness through classroom information exchange, equipment and operations demonstrations and sharing tactical information and threat response capabilities.
"Through us sharing these endeavors and workshops, we’re able to reinforce our continued partnership and relationships."Lt. Col. David Noble, 40th Brigade Engineer Battalion Commander
“Through us sharing these endeavors and workshops, we’re able to reinforce our continued partnership and relationships,” said Lt. Col. David Noble, commander, 40th Brigade Engineer Battalion. “Together, we’ll be able to recognize where we’re able to strive and succeed in the defense of Kuwait.”
The interactive exchange included counter-improvised explosive device training, a visit to the KLF Engineer compound for tours and presentations. The event culminated with a gift exchange between the KLF and the U.S. Army’s 40th BEB.
“I think it is very important to recognize that engineers working with engineers is just the beginning of a large, combined arms mindset, as we combine total army from the U.S. and Kuwaiti forces,” said Noble. “As we go into a combined arms approach — whether it’s through direct fires, indirect fires, integration of obstacles and engineer enabling capabilities—it’s a total combined arms effect. This is just the beginning of renewing our partnership and those relationships, and our combined approach for offensive and defensive operations, should the duty be called upon.”
Participants were fully engaged with all presentations, demonstrations and interactions throughout the week, both in and out of the classroom environment.
Lt. Col. Rolando Rodriguez, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, was among the engineer participants, but he also delivered a classroom presentation that inspired further in-depth dialogue among this group of professionals, to include the operational differences and similarities they have as partner nation military engineers.
“The purpose of this training was more of an information exchange with the KLF, so we can see how one another operate,” said Rodriguez. “The 40th Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB) is hosting Engineer Week, and they invited me to present. I saw it as an opportunity to engage the KLF engineers and to interact with the 40th BEB.”
According to Noble, Engineer Week is part of a series of opportunities aimed at enhancing readiness, interoperability, and partnership throughout the greater Levant.
“When the 40th Engineers came into Kuwait last November, one of our primary objectives was to continue the relationships and partnerships with our host nation counterparts, the Kuwait Army Engineers,” said Noble. “To accomplish that, we’ve had several key leader engagements, senior leader engagements, and we’ve also integrated in-theater security cooperation exercises — not just with Kuwait, but with other nations within the region as well. So, we’ve been able to send engineers to Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and UAE, providing engineer insight and cross-training with our counterparts in those nations.”
Readiness and interoperability are key among the engineers, according to Noble.
“Events like Engineer Week help us to maintain our fundamental skills of readiness,” said Noble. “It helps us understand what our Kuwaiti counterparts are able to do, as well as ourselves. Well beyond the sharing of knowledge of mobility and counter-mobility or survivability — it speaks to what the Kuwaiti engineering responsibilities are, and helps them to appreciate what our responsibilities are; because it relates to our partnership and our relationships here in theater. Together, we will defend the great nation of Kuwait. It is not one side or the other alone, it’s us together. So the better we can work together and understand each other, the better we will be able to defend this nation as a partnership, as a combined force, and as a coalition.”
Maj. Abdul Aziz Alawdhi, Kuwait Land Force Engineers, explosive ordnance disposal, operations officer, found value in the information exchange and opportunities to learn from one another.
“Everybody who has joined us in our interaction today has learned something new,” said Alawdhi. “I think this is a great cementing block in our partnership between the Kuwaiti Army and American Army in general, and particularly among engineers. The engineers are a very special unit in every army. Sitting down engineer-to-engineer is always special event. You sit down and discuss things that nobody would understand but a fellow engineer. It was a very interesting and fun experience and I thank you so very much for having us.”