Armed Forces training exercise Citadel 3 ends

The armed forces concluded the joint exercise Citadel 3 under the patronage and in the presence of HE the Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and HE the Chief of Staff Major General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem, at the Al Qalayel arena.
Citadel 3 is a tactical command centre exercise, in which all the leaders and branches of the armed forces participate. It marks the conclusion of the training course of Qatari armed forces for the period 2014-2017.
The exercise ran for 26 days.
The exercise is structured to accomplish the mission of the armed forces to defend the territory, airspace, and the territorial waters of the country, in addition to its vital economic and strategic facilities and infrastructure through amphibious, air, land and ship interception operations.
The director of the exercise, Marine Brigadier General Mubarak bin Rashid al-Sulaiti expressed his gratitude to HE the Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and HE the Chief of Staff Major General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem for attending the final stage of Citadel 3 exercise, which was carried out with live ammunition.
Al-Sulaiti said the exercise’s main aim is to improve the armed forces in all fields.
Al-Sulaiti added that Citadel 3 has been a successful end for the training course of 2014-2017 where the set goals have been achieved through intense training using the highest standards and the latest available techniques.
Citadel 3 is part of a series of training that are held every three years, adding that it complements the three-year training period, in which individual and joint training sessions with other countries are carried out, he said.
He added that the exercise was divided into three stages; the first – dedicated to preparation and equipment – started on Sept 25 and concluded at the end of March 2017, the second stage is the actual exercise. It started on April 2 and included the CPX command centre exercise, tactical exercise. The third covers a final summary of lessons learnt and a final report starting April 26 till May 4.
Al-Sulaiti said the air, land and naval forces, special forces and military police participated in the exercises. In addition they were joined by border protection, signal, information technology, maintenance, engineers, intelligence and security unit, medical services, supply and processing authority, directorate of protocol, public relations, moral guidance, military training, national defence centre, crisis management, and joint operations.
From outside the armed forces, the Emiri guard and the general directorate of coasts and borders security also participated in the exercised, he said.