Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael McNabb | HATZOR AIR FORCE BASE, Israel (Mar. 9, 2018) U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti...... read more read more
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TEL AVIV, Israel - U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander for U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO Supreme Allied Command Europe traveled to Israel March 9 to meet with U.S. and Israeli leadership and troops participating in the combined missile defense exercise Juniper Cobra 2018 (JC18), taking place through March 15.
During his visit Scaparrotti will speak with service men and women representing units from U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Marine Forces Europe, U.S. Army Forces Europe, and U.S. Air Forces Europe about the importance of the U.S. Israeli partnership and contributions made toward enhanced defense readiness by participating in JC18.
"I am pleased with the great teamwork and coordination that has taken place to make this exercise a success," said Scaparrotti. "We value the relationships we have with our IDF counterparts."
The exercise involves more than 2,500 U.S. military personnel. Approximately 2,000 IDF personnel from Israel are also participating.
During his visit, Scaparrotti will meet with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, as well as other military and civilian officials from both the U.S. and Israel. He will tour the headquarters of JC18, Hatzor Air Force Base, and various other bases and sites, to meet U.S. and Israeli troops.
Scaparrotti said he believes in the benefits of conducting exercises like JC18, and that training together only strengthens their existing defense relationship.
"The U.S. is deeply committed to the defense of Israel," Scaparrotti said.
"We will continue to work alongside them to promote stability throughout the region, not only for the purposes of this exercise, but in the event of any real-world contingency."
"To have General Scaparrotti make time to speak with us, shows us how
important this exercise truly is," said U.S. Army PV2 Jacob Sharp, assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, 82nd Engineering Battalion. "It really reinforces the importance of us being here, and our relationship with Israel."
On March 10, Scaparrotti will meet with the crew of the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet amphibious command ship, USS Mount Whitney, at Haifa Port before heading to the U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv for additional meetings. His visit will conclude with another round of meetings with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel March 11.
JC18 is part of a long-standing agreement between U.S. European Command and the Israel Defense Force to hold bi-lateral training exercises on a regular basis in order to promote and sustain regional stability and to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge. The exercise is conducted through computer simulations focused on improving combined missile defense capabilities and overall interoperability between USEUCOM and the IDF.
For more information about U.S. European Command visit http://www.eucom.mil/. For more information about JC18 visit
https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/JuniperCobra.
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U.S. European Command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic
combatant commands whose area of focus spans across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The command is comprised of more than 60,000 military and civilian personnel and is responsible for U.S. defense operations, relations with NATO and 51 countries. For more information about U.S. European Command, visit http://www.eucom.mil/.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2018 11:58 |
| Story ID: | 268803 |
| Location: | IL |
| Web Views: | 604 |
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