US marines and sailors from the Boxer amphibious ready group (ARG) wrapped up their participation in the multilateral exercise Eager Lion in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The 10-day exercise included the full spectrum of military operations, including an amphibious landing; Maritime Raid Force dive operations and kinetic range qualifications; aerial insertion of the Jordanian 61st Battalion Quick Reaction Force and British Royal Gurkha Rifles; explosive ordnance disposal ranges; nuclear, biological and chemical defense response; and joint integrated civil affairs training alongside partner nations to share best practices.
During the exercise, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit partnered with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom.
“This is why partnerships matter,” said Col. Fridrik Fridriksson, commanding officer, 11th MEU. “Eager Lion allowed us the opportunity to maintain ready and responsive forces while working with our partners in the region. Together, we are prepared and trained to address unpredictable adversaries.”
Eager Lion, US Central Command’s premiere exercise in the Levant region, is a major training event that provides US forces, Jordan Armed Forces and 28 other participating nations the opportunity to improve their collective ability to plan and operate in a coalition-type environment through scenarios that span from a long-range bomber mission to maritime security operations to cyber threats from fictitious adversaries.