TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- U.S. Central Command conducted Invincible Sentry 20, a bilateral exercise hosted by the government of Uzbekistan in military training facilities within the Tashkent region, Feb. 24 – Mar. 2, 2020.
IS20 was a crisis response rehearsal designed to evaluate the command and control operations between U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), component command staffs, other U.S. Government agencies and the host nation. It was also designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S. and Uzbekistan forces in case the need for a combined response to regional crises or contingencies.
U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), a Joint-Force capable headquarters, served as the command and control element for all U.S. Special Operations participating in the exercise.
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) worked closely with the Uzbekistan National Guard and other Uzbek security forces to train on critical tasks and realistic scenarios that provided an opportunity to pursue ways to better address common threats to regional security.
“IS20 provided the U.S. and Uzbekistan forces a unique opportunity to train together in a relatively low-threat environment,” said a senior SOF planner assigned to SOCCENT. “Particularly for U.S. forces, it allowed us to exercise key capabilities for various crisis response possibilities.”
The exercise allowed for both American and Uzbek participants to improve operational agility when confronted with unfamiliar challenges. Each day of the exercise, U.S. and Uzbekistan forces rehearsed, executed and learned from each other.
“It was really good to train with the U.S. forces,” said an Uzbekistan National Guard member. “I liked the way we worked together during our tactical maneuvers scenarios and we learned different ways to handle certain situations throughout the training.”
The partnership opportunity served as another repetition for SOCCENT to apply capabilities and achieve validation to continue to provide SOF operational planning and support throughout the region.
Combined military training exercises, such as IS20, are an ideal way to prepare participating forces to operate together when needed. The U.S. military participates in more than 80 exercises with partner nations each year in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility.
The U.S. remains dedicated to fostering a strong working relationship with Uzbekistan based on trust and shared interests. As is the case in all such engagements, IS20 helped better prepare the partner forces and demonstrated the commitment to increasing our joint understanding and operations.
“Our military cooperation with Uzbekistan is based on mutual respect and common interests,” said U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Daniel Rosenblum. “Training programs and joint response exercises such as Invincible Sentry show the depth and breadth of our security partnership with Uzbekistan.”