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Feature Stories

NEWS | Sept. 11, 2018

Exercise Bright Star 2018 Opening Ceremony

By Sgt. Fatima Konteh U.S. Army Central

Exercise Bright Star 18 kicked off with an opening ceremony at Mohamed Naguib Military Base auditorium, Egypt, Sept. 8, 2018. The guest speakers, Egyptian Army Major General Khalid Khairy, Egyptian Training Authority Deputy, along with U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jon Mott, U.S. Central Command Director of Exercises and Training, welcomed military members of all participating nations.

Bright Star 18 is a two-week multilateral exercise covering best practices on counterinsurgency, border control, and other irregular warfare challenges.

More than 800 U.S. military service members are participating in Bright Star 18, which includes command-post and field training exercises.

“Bright Star is a golden opportunity to pursue better ways to address specific threats to regional security at the operational level,” said Maj. Gen. Mott.

The exercise includes Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force components across the participating nations. Coalition forces will deploy to field locations to conduct tactical operations under simulated conditions.

“This year’s exercise will test our collective ability to work together to address realistic scenarios across air, land, sea, and cyber domains – and to challenge and train our combined battle staffs in the specific mission areas,” Gen. Mott stated.

Exercise Bright Star 18 is an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships with Egypt and other partner nations. It provides a forum for addressing relevant regional issues associated with enhancing regional security and cooperation, promoting coalition interoperability in irregular warfare, and improving within the full range of military operations.