Operation Bright Star

A Somali soldier poses for a photograph during Operation Bright Star '85.

An Egyptian marine aiming a RPD light machine gun during the Operation Bright Star '85.

Egyptian marines aiming a SG43 medium machine gun during Operation Bright Star '85

The first exercise, Bright Star '81, was conducted from October to December 1980 (fiscal year 1981). U.S. Army's rapid-deployment unit (Task Force "Strike", 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment) of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and U.S. Air Force personnel were deployed to Cairo West Air Base in Egypt for the exercise. This operation was the first deployment of combat soldiers into the region since World War II. Bright Star '81 was initiated by the Carter Administration in response to the Iranian hostage crisis as well as Russia's entry into Afghanistan. But the U.S. armed forces were partially unprepared for the exercise. Soldiers were issued jungle fatigues in lieu of desert camouflage (which was not in the U.S. Army inventory in 1980) and hastily-established Egyptian air traffic control systems caused the loss of 14 U.S. Air Force New Mexico Guard personnel when a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter crashed attempting to land. Post-operation briefings affected positive change for future readiness and successful exercises thereafter, said MSG Keefer (retired), the only enlisted member of the debriefing team for Bright Star '81.

The following year, a similar exercise was held using the same ground rules. USS Coral Sea (CV-43) took part in 1982. After Exercise Eastern Wind ’83, the amphibious portion of Bright Star '83, the Los Angeles Times was told that “the exercise failed dismally.…The Somali army did not perform up to any standard,” one diplomat said. … “The inefficiency of the Somali armed forces is legendary among foreign military men.”[2]

By 1983, the size of the forces involved prompted planners to hold the event every two years rather than annually. The exercise went under further evolution in 1985 with the inclusion of the U.S. and Egyptian Air Forces. The two nations' respective navies and special forces joined the exercise in 1987.

The Associated Press, in a story dated August 4, 1985, said that U.S. forces would begin their largest exercise in the Middle East ever that day. Egypt, Somalia, Jordan, and Oman were reported as participating.[3]

Egypt's Information Ministry confirmed that Bright Star began in Egypt on schedule with activation of command centers and some movement of troops into maneuver areas. A Pentagon spokesman in Washington said about 9,000 Americans would take part in the weeklong Egyptian phase, the main part of the exercise. The spokesman said an unspecified smaller number of American soldiers would take part in Somalia and about 520 would join in the Jordanian portion. Pentagon sources in Washington said a smaller number of Americans would also train in Oman ..

After the 1989 event, the exercise was moved from the summer to the fall. The Bright Star exercises are named after the fiscal year during which they occur; consequently, they take place in the calendar year before their number would indicate. For example, Bright Star 95 actually took place in the fall of 1994.

In the Autumn of 1995, nearly 60,000 troops took part in the revived Bright Star Exercise, which included nations other than Egypt and the United States for the first time.

During the 1997 exercise, the U.S. Air Force encountered fuel shortages. Their Egyptian counterparts demonstrated an ability to blend Jet A-1 fuel with additives to produce the JP-8 required by U.S. aircraft.

The 1998 event focused on naval and amphibious warfare. It included the USS George Washington, USS John F. Kennedy Battle Groups and the Guam Amphibious Ready Group.

The largest Bright Star exercise took place in October and November 1999, involving 11 nations and 70,000 personnel. An additional 33 nations sent observers to monitor the exercise: Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, China, Congo, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

The exercise scenario involved a fictional hostile nation named "Orangeland" invading Egypt and trying to take control of the Nile River. The exercise coalition worked together, practicing fighting in the air, land, and sea domains, to defend the Nile and expel Orangeland.

A key piece of the training was a six-nation amphibious assault led by the Royal Navy.

Despite the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. sent 23,000 troops to participate in Bright Star in October and November 2001. Elements of the 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment joined coalition partners to continue strengthening U.S.–Arab ties.

Forces from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Spain, United Kingdom and Egypt participated in the event.

It was the first time that a US military exercise was executed under Force Protection Condition 'Delta'.

Quartermaster Professional Bulletin Spring 2002 gives detail about the efforts of the 559th Quartermaster Battalion to support Bright Star '01.

The National Command Authorities deemed this exercise so important that it continued the operation which began just days before terrorists struck targets on American soil on September 11, 2001.

The US did not participate in the exercise scheduled for Fall 2003 due to high military commitments in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.

Bright Star '06 began on September 10 and ended October 3, 2005. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 28th Infantry Division (Mechanized) was put in charge of the field training exercise. Units participating included 28th ID’s 104th Cavalry Regiment, Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, mechanized infantry from Jordan, and a tank company from Egypt. In addition, 11 Airmobile Infantry Battalion Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers of the Royal Netherlands Army deployed to Egypt for the exercise.[4] Also among the many military units was the 256th Combat Support Hospital which is an Army Reserve unit from Columbus, Ohio and the 140th Quartermaster unit from Fort Totten, NY. The 256th CSH served in support of the many jump operations that were conducted. The Aviation Task Force was led by the Wisconsin and Iowa Army National Guard's 1-147th Command Aviation Battalion supported by MEDEVAC units from California and Wyoming. CH-47s were provided by the Connecticut Army National Guard.

Among the US participants for Bright Star '08 were the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York Army National Guard, the only U.S. National Guard division headquarters to have deployed to Iraq at that time, and the 48th Brigade Special Troops Battalion of the Georgia Army National Guard.

US Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion make an amphibious landing during Bright Star '09

Bright Star '10 took place in October 2009 and included a strategic airborne jump of more than 300 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division partnering with Egyptian, German, Kuwaiti, and Pakistani paratroopers. Also, more than 1,000 US Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit rolled onto El Alamein Beach by amphibious landing with their Bright Star counterparts.[5]

Also more non-traditional training took place during the operation and included a combined computer aided command post exercise introducing partnering soldiers to each other's equipment and updated tactics, thereby developing a better coalition contingency environment.[5]

Bright Star '12 was postponed due to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.[6]

Bright Star '14, scheduled for September 2013, was cancelled by U.S. president Barack Obama after Egyptian police raided two large encampments by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo to forcibly disperse them, after six weeks of unauthorized sit-in.[6]

Bright Star '17 took place in Western Alexandria's Mohammed Naguib Military Base, September 10–20.[1] [7] [8] [9][10] [11]

The Bright Star '18 was scheduled to be conducted September 8–20 in Alexandria's Mohammed Naguib Military Base, with forces from Greece, Jordan, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, as well as observers from 16 other nations.

[12][13]

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