Eager Lion is a two-week multinational military exercise held annually in Jordan since 2010. Organized by the U.S. Department of Defense,[1] the exercise revolves around troop deployments, chemical warfare, border security, command and control, cyber defense and battlespace management.[2] According to one source, the exercise "amounts to an outgrowth of the annual bilateral 'Infinite Moonlight' US-Jordan exercise that stretches back to the 1990s."[3]
18 countries participated in the exercise in 2015: Jordan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Pakistan, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Poland, Australia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.[4] Eager Lion is now the largest U.S. military exercise in the Middle East, having surpassed Bright Star.[5]
Participants
edit- Jordan
- United States
- United Kingdom
- United Arab Emirates
- Australia
- Greece
- Cyprus
- Iraq
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Canada
- Poland
- France
- Italy
- Egypt
- Pakistan
References
edit- ^ "United States joins 17 nations for war games in Jordan".
- ^ "U.S., Jordan Partner in Eager Lion Exercise > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Article View". www.defense.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-05-14.
- ^ "US, 18 other nations, wrap up Eager Lion military exercise in Jordan". Christian Science Monitor. 2012-05-29. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ "Eager Lion 2015 concludes with joint drill". 18 May 2015.
- ^ Arkin, William (May 18, 2012). "Eager Lion Now Supplants Bright Star as Largest U.S. Exercise in Middle East". William M. Arkin Online.