U.S. Central Command Army Day

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

05.19.2023

Story by 2nd Lt. Desmond Jones 

Joint Force Headquarters - Mississippi National Guard

U.S. Army Central and the Third
Army Forward Command Post hosted
"Army Day" on May 19, 2023, at
Udairi Range, Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
Army Day is like that "Show and Tell
Day" that everyone was excited for
back in grade school. Units were
able to showcase some of the Army's
latest and greatest equipment and
capabilities within the theater.
Although the title of this event
was "Army Day," U.S. Army Central
commanders and senior enlisted
advisors from its major subordinate
units, U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command, U.S. Air Forces Central
Command, Marine Corps Forces
Central Command, and Special
Operations Central also attended the
event, which included a Combined
Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) and
a display demonstration of all
the participants' equipment and
organization capabilities.
Task Force Southern Castle provided
a unique, static display of its Wingtra
One Gen II Survey and Design drone,
as well as displays set up by the 217th
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
Team and the 1135th Route Clearance
Company. As the engineer with
expertise in theater, the 168th Theater
Engineer Brigade Commander
explained to many of the general
officers the importance of the key
tasks, roles, and responsibilities the
unit plays in Operation Spartan Shield
(OSS) and Operation Inherent Resolve
(OIR).
"We serve as the Theater Engineer
Brigade in the CENTCOM AOR. Our
job is to provide general engineering
across the AO for both OSS and
OIR. A few unique capabilities we
can bring are design, construction,
route clearance, geospatial and
EOD operations across the AOR,"
Col. Kendrick Cager, 168th Engineer
Brigade Commander, explained to
Maj. Gen. Kevin Leahy, U.S. Special
Operations Commanding General.
Army Day began with a sand table
briefing for all the distinguished
visitors and local military in
attendance. Following that, the
CALFEX began immediately out in the
hot, dry desert of the Udairi Range. It
included infantry elements, clearing
and demolishing an objective midfield
on the range.
"We're busy, sir; there's only one
engineer brigade here, and we have
all the engineer capabilities for the
AOR," Col. Cager replied to Maj. Gen.
Leahy's remarks about the unit being
busy with the roles and responsibilities
it has.
Army Day provides a lot of
opportunities and exposure to the
CENTCOM region as the units within
the theater continue to train, maintain,
and fight the enemies within close
combat. Being able to showcase
equipment to the leaders who sit
and strive to make the best decisions
for our nation's battles directly helps
them understand the challenges and
obstacles that the force may be facing.

• Date Taken: 05.19.2023
• Date Posted: 07.14.2023 10:56
• Story ID: 449188
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW
• Hometown: CAMP BUEHRING, JA, KW