Opening cermoney pictures of Indo Oman joint excercise that begins at army cantonment at Bakloh in Himachal. Ravinder Sood

Ravinder Sood

Palampur March 6

A 14-day joint training exercise of the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman, codenamed Al-Nagah-II 2017, commenced today at Bakloh. This is the second edition of the series of joint exercises between the two countries. Exercise Al-Nagah was first held at Muscat in 2015. The Indian Army is fielding a contingent from the Gorkha Rifles for the exercise.The aim of the exercise is to acquaint both forces with each other’s operating procedures at the tactical level in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment and to enhance the existing military relationship between the two armies. The exercise also focused on enhancing the interoperability between the two armies while conducting joint operations.Senior military observers from both countries will be witnessing the validation phase of the exercise. Commander, 33 Mountain Brigade, welcomed the participating soldiers and said that the exercise was another step towards strengthening the ties between the two countries. “Over the next couple of weeks, we shall be going over various counter insurgency and counter terrorism drills. You shall be subjected to various conditions and tests with respect to the changing military environment,” he told the troops.He requested all the officers and troops to share knowledge with each other in terms of the implementation of tactics are the two armies use in their respective countries. Stating that the exercise should be a knowledgeable experience for all and by the time it concludes, he said that the participants should be fully satisfied by the efforts that have been put in, thereby, making this exercise a stepping stone for all the future exercises.