KUWAIT, April 18, 2017 — U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council forces stormed Kuwait's Shuwaikh Port in a demonstration of interoperability April 6 in the final event of exercise Eagle Resolve 2017.

The culminating event involved land, air and maritime forces and included tactical demonstrations of search and seizure operations, chemical threat counter operations and border security.

Army Maj. Gen. Ralph H. Groover III, U.S. Central Command's director of exercises and training directorate, said the benefits of Eagle Resolve 2017 began more than a year ago when the U.S. and GCC nations planned for the exercise.

"Working together; understanding one another; [and] understanding each other's tactics, techniques and procedures for responding to threats enhances all of our capabilities," Groover said.

Begun in 1999, Eagle Resolve has become the leading engagement between the U.S. and GCC nations to collectively address the regional challenges associated with asymmetric warfare in a low-risk setting.

"We dealt with reality in accordance with the environment around us and countering terrorism," said Kuwaiti army Lt. Gen. Mohammed Khaled Al-Khader, Kuwait's military chief of general staff.

Continuous Training

More than 3,000 forces from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. participated in the three-week exercise. This year's scenarios ranged from air defense concepts, border security operations, counterterrorism operations and procedures to consequence management.

"We are concerned about defending our gulf, defending ourselves, our states and our nations," Al-Khader said. "What is important for us is our continuous training so we can achieve the required level of fighting readiness."

While participating nations may have varying reasons for supporting Eagle Resolve, one common theme unites them: regional security.