Exercise Bright Star
Operation Bright Star is a series of biennial combined and joint training exercises led by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt. These exercises began in 1981. They are designed to strengthen ties between the Egyptian and American militaries and demonstrate and enhance the ability of the Americans to reinforce their allies in the Middle East in the event of war. These deployments usually are centered at the large Cairo West Air Base. During the period following the liberation of Kuwait (Operation Desert Storm), these exercises have grown larger and have included as many as 11 countries and 70,000 personnel. Other allied nations joining Bright Star exercises in Egypt have included the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates.
Biennial joint exercise
Bright Star is a joint exercise including air, ground, and naval elements. It is a central method for United States Central Command to build cooperation and readiness of allied nations within and around the Middle East.
Specifically, the exercise consists of coalition interoperability training, called Affiliation Training, to teach nations how to operate with one another in a wartime environment, a Command Post Exercise designed to help standardize command and control procedures, and a large-scale Field Training Exercise to practice everything together.
History
The exercise is rooted in the Camp David Accords. After its signing, the military forces of Egypt and the United States agreed to conduct coalition training in Egypt. The first exercise was conducted from September to December 1980. U.S. Army units (Task Force "Strike",1/502nd INF.) of the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and U.S. Air Forces personnel, provided the forces involved in this operation. The following year, a similar exercise was held using the same ground rules.
By 1983, the size of the forces involved prompted planners to hold the event every two years rather than annually. The exercise went under further evolution in 1985 with the inclusion of the American and Egyptian Air Forces. The two nations' respective navies and special forces joined the exercise in 1987.
After the 1989 event, the exercise was moved from the summer to the fall.[1]
Bright Star 95
In the Autumn of 1995, nearly 60,000 troops took part in the revived Bright Star Exercise, which included nations other than Egypt and the United States for the first time.
Bright Star 97
During the 1997 exercise, the U.S. Air Force encountered a fuel shortage. Their Egyptian counterparts demonstrated an ability to blend Jet A-1 fuel with additives to produce the JP-8 required by U.S. aircraft.
Bright Star 98
The 1998 event focused on naval and amphibious warfare. It included the USS George Washington and USS John F. Kennedy Battle Groups and the Guam Amphibious Ready Group.
Bright Star 2000
 | This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. (October 2009) |
The largest Bright Star exercise took place in October and November 1999, involving 11 nations and 70,000 personnel. An additional 32 nations sent observers to monitor the exercise including Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, China, Congo[disambiguation needed], India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
The exercise scenario involved a fictional hostile nation named "Orangeland" invading Egypt and trying to take control of the Nile River. The exercise coalition worked together, practicing fighting in the air, land, and sea domains, to defend the Nile and expel Orangeland.
A key piece of the training was a six-nation amphibious assault led by the Royal Navy.
Bright Star 02
Despite the events of 11 September 2001, the U.S. sent 23,000 troops to participate in Bright Star in October and November 2001. Elements of the 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment joined coalition partners to continue strengthening U.S.-Arab ties.
Forces from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Spain the United Kingdom and Egypt participated in the event.
It was the first time in the history of the United States that a military exercise was executed under Force Protection Condition 'Delta.'
The National Command Authorities deemed this exercise so important that it continued the operation which began just days after terrorists struck targets on American soil on September 11, 2001.
Bright Star 04
The U.S. did not participate in the exercise scheduled for Fall 2003 due to high military commitments in the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War.
Bright Star 06
Bright Star 05/06 began Sep. 10th, 2005.
Bright Star 08
The U.S. military participated in Operation Bright Star in 2007. Among the participants were the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York Army National Guard, the only U.S. National Guard division headquarters to deploy to Iraq, and the 48th Brigade Special Troops Battalion of the Georgia Army National Guard.
Bright Star 10
Bright Star 10 took place in October 2009 and included a strategic airborne jump of more than 300 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division partnering with Egyptian, German, Kuwait, and Pakistani paratroopers, while more than 1,000 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit rolled onto El Alamein Beach by amphibious landing with their Bright Star counterparts.[2]
More non-traditional training took place during the operation and included a combined computer aided command post exercise introducing partnering soldiers to each others' equipment and updated tactics, thereby developing a better coalition contingency environment.[2]
Footnotes
- ^ The Bright Star exercises are named for the fiscal year during which they occur; consequently, they take place in the calendar year before their number would indicate. For example, Bright Star 95 actually took place in the fall of 1994.
- ^ a b Operation Bright Star begins October 16, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
References
