KUWAIT: The General Headquarters of the National Guard announced the start of the activities of the Guard Command Centers exercise (CPX Nasr 18) held at the camp of HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah. The exercise commenced in the presence of the Undersecretary of the National Guard Lieutenant General Engineer Hashim Al-Rifai. The exercise will continue until May 3. Rifai conveyed to the participants the greetings of the leadership of the National Guard represented by Chief of the National Guard HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah and Deputy Chief of the National Guard Sheikh Faisal Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
"We stress the importance of the exercise in honing the skills of leaders in facing crises by coordinating efforts, developing communication channels and strengthening capabilities in carrying out tasks, whether in the security or military aspect. We also provide support to all state agencies with high efficiency to maintain the security of the homeland under our wise leadership,” Lieutenant-General Rifai said, adding that the exercise seeks to train National Guard leaders from all units to deal with emergency situations and quickly make appropriate decisions to solve any issues.
"(CPX Nasr 18) is one of the major exercises that are held annually in the National Guard to raise the level of readiness and combat readiness,” said Lieutenant-General Rifai. Director of the Operations Directorate of the National Guard and Director of the Exercise Brigadier General Saleh Mufleh said the exercise includes workshops and coordination meetings to discuss several topics, including cybersecurity. "The aim is to raise the capabilities of specialists in the National Guard to confront cyber-attacks and take proactive measures to avoid them,” he said.
The last National Guard Command Centers exercise (CPX Nasr 17) was held five years ago in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. It saw the participation of delegates from the US, Britain, Vietnam, China, Jordan, Turkey, France and Italy.
Non-commissioned officers
In another development, the army has announced the enrollment of 400 Kuwaitis who passed the scheduled tests and medical examinations in the course of non-commissioned officers. According to a press statement, the admission of all applicants who have passed the tests and medical examinations comes in line with the high directives of the political leadership to support and encourage Kuwaiti youths and give them the opportunity to work and serve their homeland. The first batch of 227 students was accepted last March, with 350 applicants to be accepted next May. The rest of the applicants will be accepted and trained successively in schools and training wings of all army units. —KUNA