May 17, 2021

Innovation saves 37 work-hours using spreadsheet

ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait — In a deployed environment, unit travel representatives (UTR) have to find an extra 40 hours to complete the duties required of them within a five-day span. On top of the typical 12-hour shifts, six days a week they spend on their primary duties, UTRs are responsible for tracking unit members’ travel back home. U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Caleb Jones, 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron manpower analyst, created a macro, a recorded series of instructions, with a spreadsheet that cuts the 40 hours of work into three hours or less by automating about 90% of a UTR’s duty when it comes to a data scrub, a process used to determine redeployment dates.

May 10, 2021

Unsafe and Unprofessional Interaction with IRGCN FIAC in Strait of Hormuz

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN — On May 10, 2021, Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, conducted unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers and failed to exercise due regard for the safety of U.S. forces as required under international law while operating in close proximity to U.S. naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

May 8, 2021

USS Monterey Seizes Illicit Weapons in the North Arabian Sea

NSA BAHRAIN — The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) seized an illicit shipment of weapons from a stateless dhow in international water of the North Arabian Sea on May 6-7, 2021.

May 6, 2021

NAVCENT, U.S. Fifth Fleet, CMF Change of Command

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper relieved Vice Adm. Samuel Paparo as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) during a change of command ceremony onboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, May 5, 2021.

May 3, 2021

Task Force Spartan participates in missile defense exercise

QATAR — The 130th Field Artillery Brigade of Task Force Spartan participated in an Air and Missile Defense Exercise (AMDEX 21), a U.S.-led event that develops tactics against simulated air and missile threats, April 12 - 23, 2021.

May 3, 2021

ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY Sets New CMF Heroin Record Seizure In Back-To-BackDrug Busts

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ship HMCS Calgary has made the largest ever heroin bust in Combined Maritime Forces history, operating under the command of the Canadian-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150. The record-setting haul of 2,835 lbs (1,286 kg) of heroin on 23 April was achieved seven years to the day since HMAS Darwin interdicted 2,275 lbs (1,032kg) of the drug in 2014. In addition to their record-breaking success, Calgary struck again less than 24 hours later with a second interdiction capturing 794 lbs (360 kg) of methamphetamine.

April 30, 2021

Regional Solutions Needed to Address Middle East Security, General Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said the two most urgent threats in the coming years will most likely be the proliferation of cheap and capable unmanned aerial vehicles used by extremist groups, as well as humanitarian crises in the Middle East caused by poor governance, which could serve to radicalize youths.

April 28, 2021

Deployed fighters utilize ACE concept, execute tactical munitions ferry

AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates — Six F-15E Strike Eagles landed here with a modified munitions configuration on Apr. 25, 2021, as part of an Agile Combat Employment operation in the U.S. Central Command theater.

April 27, 2021

IRGCN Interaction with U.S. Naval Vessels in the North Arabian Gulf

At approximately 8 p.m. on April 26, three Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) failed to exercise due regard for the safety of other vessels as required under international law as they came into close proximity to U.S. naval vessels in international waters of the north Arabian Gulf.

April 26, 2021

386 ESFS: This is a simulation

ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait — Calm, collected and ready to walk into the unknown. A defender is trained to be mentally prepared to handle almost any situation they might encounter. Continuous training and exposure to countless scenarios, with the help of technology, allows defenders to play through responses to see what works best in handling and deescalating situations.