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Initial Link

The Gulf War formed a basis for an intensified military cooperation between the Gulf states and the United States. For Bahrain, this cooperation resulted not only in US deployments to Sheik Isa but also in numerous joint exercises. One of those exercises, Initial Link, is held annually between the GCC air forces and various US units from the US Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

During the period April 11 to April 25, 1996 Joint Task Force-Southwest Asia conducted U.S. Central Command exercise INITIAL LINK 96.

Exercise Initial Link '97 was a multinational training exercise between the United States Navy, United States Air Force and several Persian Gulf countries. The Navy guided missile cruiser USS Chosin participated in "Exercise Initial Link '97." The joint tactical exercise involved military units from Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. USS Constellation (CV-64) participated in INITIAL LINK in the Arabian Gulf May 29, 1997. From March through June of 1997, the 522nd deployed 12 jets to four Middle East countries in support of Exercise Accurate Test, Air Expeditionary Force IV and Exercise Initial Link. On 23 May 1997 two B-1B Lancers from the 366th Air Expeditionary Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, landed at Lajes Field on their way home from Initial Link '97, a global power exercise.

Exercise Initial Link in Bahrain in 1999 brought together most of the GCC's air forces. Initial Link '99 was cancelled when the US withdrew because of its involvement in Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia. Every unit involved was disappointed, including the 144th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard unit in Fresno, California, as it prepared to deploy six F-16Cs to Sheik Isa.

The 366th Wing deployed approximately 300 members to Southwest Asia to train with allied forces overseas. Members from several squadrons including aircrews from the 389th Fighter Squadron and the 34th Bomb Squadron with their F-16s and B-1B aircraft to participate in the exercise. The wing is participating in two exercises while there named "Accurate Test" and "Initial Link" to train with a variety of allied aircraft and to practice deployment and sustainability at remote locations as a deployed unit. The 366th Wing is the U.S. Air Force's premier air expeditionary wing. It rotates a 120-day on-call period with Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. as a "911 wing" to respond to contingencies worldwide at a moment's notice. The wing came off its latest on-call rotation March 31st. The deployment lasted for approximately 60 days.

In April 2002 Bahrain asked CENTCOM to cancel a scheduled air exercise with the US Navy, after protesters angry over US support for Israel attacked the US embassy in Manama with Molotov cocktails.