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Exercise Lion's Leap demonstrates Iraqi military capabilities

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Randy Redman
  • 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BESMAYA RANGE COMPLEX, Iraq --  The Iraqi military kicked off Exercise Lion's Leap, a joint training exercise/demonstration near Baghdad April 18.
 
The exhibition was just one of several ongoing, multi-phase exercises designed to further integrate the Iraqi air force, Iraqi Army Aviation Command and Iraqi army. This component brought together Iraqi troops in M1A1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers and Mi-171 helicopters to showcase how the different components work together.

A number of distinguished visitors were on hand for the demonstration, including U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter, Deputy Commanding General for Advising and Training, several Iraqi military generals and members of the media.

United States Forces-Iraq is working closely with the MOD during all phases of exercise to plan, coordinate, and execute the exercise. However, as the U.S. end of mission scheduled for December draws closer, American advisors are taking a step back to allow Iraqi forces to demonstrate their ability to contribute towards the security and stability of the region.