10.27.2020 –
ARIFJAN, Kuwait – A Kuwait Land Forces honor guard stood tall welcoming Task Force Spartan Shield Commander, Maj. Gen. Steven Ferrari, to the Kuwait Land Forces Artillery Regiment headquarters for a meeting with KLF Artillery Regimental Commander Brig. Gen. Khaled A. Al-Shualah.
“You are welcome here,” said Al-Shualah to Ferrari. “This is your camp, your office, your country. We welcome you to the Kuwait Land Forces.”
This meeting was the first for the two leaders' due to COVID-19 safety precautions.
“I see your Order of Saint Barbara,” said Ferrari, pointing to the medal hanging on the wall. “A well-deserved award.”
“I keep my medals to motivate my staff,” said Al-Shualah. “To show them what you can accomplish, this is the purpose of medals.”
Medals are usually awarded to individual Soldiers for deeds conducted during military service.
“Our success is dependent on those around us,” said Ferrari. “We cannot do it alone.”
These sentiments do not only apply to one side or nation.
“We are friends and partners,” said Al-Shualah.
This partnership has flourished thanks to the numerous exercises Task Force Spartan has completed alongside the KLF, like Artillery Inferno.
“I am pleased with Artillery Inferno,” said Ferrari. “We look forward to Spartan Thunder III.”
“Field Artillery Officer though they are of different nationalities, togetherness is in their genes,” said Al-Shualah. “I feel that you are in your home.”
The partnership between Kuwait and U.S. forces provides opportunities that benefit both nations.
“In this region, we have had bad regimes,” said Al-Shualah. “These bad regimes want to break our country. Many years ago, before oil was found, the U.S. was the first to help us.”
“It is important for us to continue to be partners and maintain Kuwait’s independence,” said Ferrari.
The help that was provided in the past is also a promise for the future.
“Together, the U.S. is the cornerstone; if you attack one, you attack all,” said Ferrari. “We put on a uniform to defend our country and our families,” said Ferrari. “This is a complex part of the world, and if God wills it, there will be peace in the Middle East.”
“We are all sons of one,” said Al-Shualah. “Our uniform is the same, we are people of goodness both in one body and mind, and we must focus on the enemy. I look forward to multinational training exercises to defend our country and the region with coalition forces,”
These coalition forces deploy to the region for a short but valuable time.
“Our deployment to Kuwait over the past eight months has been a great experience for the headquarters here,” said Ferrari. “The 42nd Infantry Division has served in WWI, WWII, Operation Iraqi Freedom in ’05, and now for this deployment.”
“This meeting is documented and now part of the 103-year history of the 42nd Infantry Division,” added Ferrari. “Years from now, we will be able to tell our grandchildren about this.”
“We are proud to be your partner and friends,” said Ferrari. “If there is anything the U.S. can do to help Kuwait, that is why we are here.”
“Today your visit is an honor to us,” said Al-Shualah.