Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamad Al Attiyah during the joint exercise Citadel 3.
The armed forces concluded the joint exercise Citadel 3 under the patronage and in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamad Al Attiyah and HE Chief of Staff Major General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanem, at Al Qalayel arena.
Citadel 3 is a tactical command center exercise, in which all the leaders and branches of the armed forces participate. It is a main exercise to conclude the training course of Qatari armed forces 2014-2017 and ran for 26 days through Tariq bin Ziyad and Al Qalayel battalions, in addition to several maritime areas.
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 repelling amphibious, air, land and ship interception operations.
The director of the exercise, Marine Brigadier General Mubarak bin Rashid Al Sulaiti expressed his gratitude for the attendance of HE Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and Chief of Staff Major General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanem to the final stage of Citadel 3, which was carried out with live ammunition.
Al Sulaiti said the exercise's main aim is to improve the armed forces in all fields and continuous exercising enhances the fight efficiency of all leaders and units in the modern battle which requires a diversity of weapons and instruments to accomplish the mission through coordinating between forces and joint weapons.
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 trainings with other countries are carried out, he said.
He added that the exercise was divided into three stages; the first is dedicated to preparation and equipment and started on Sept. 25 and concluded at the end of March 2017, the second stage is the actual exercise and started on April 2, and included the CPX command center exercise, tactical exercise sectors FTX and the final day, the third day covers a final summary, 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.
