Lucky Sentinel
LUCKY SENTINEL is ARCENT's premier battlestaff exercise. This exercise is conducted annually in the AOR and is designed to train the Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait staff, Kuwait Armed Forces staff, Kuwait Ministry of Interior staff and selected support unit staffs at operational level of warfighting. Lucky Sentinel is an ARCENT led OPLAN exercise in Kuwait, testing the JRSOI portion of the OPLAN. Lucky Sentinel includes air land and sea operations with emphasis on the joint targeting process and integration of all component air and fires capability. Also included is training on theater missile defense operations and reception staging.
Lucky Sentinel 01 was a multi-national, joint CPX taking place in Kuwait and the USA from 24 March - 11 April 01. The exercise involved troops from the UK, US and Kuwait. More than 600 personnel poured into Camp Doha for the Lucky Sentinel 2001 exercise which tested the battle readiness of soldiers and systems from Headquarters, 3rd Army/Army Forces Central Command from Fort McPherson, Ga. LS is a computer-assisted, command-post exercise that involved multi-national forces and joint service operations, including reserve forces, according to Lt. Col. Harold S. Hardwick, C-3 current operations night-shift leader. It is conducted to test the staff of the Combined Joint Task Force-Kuwait for wartime operations. It's a computer exercise run from Atlanta using elements in Kuwait. It helps get the bugs ironed out of operations. Soldiers reacted to simulations produced by the computer. The exercise play consisted of various scenarios from troop movements to air strikes and terrorist attacks. The staff had to coordinate logistics and keep the battle running as planned.
As part of Lucky Sentinel, plans and operations officers from Coalition Forces, including the United States, took a trip to the Kuwaiti 35th Brigade Headquarters west of Kuwait City to get a better understanding of the way a battle would progress in Kuwait. At the 35th Brigade Camp is a terrain map that fills a warehouse. Stretching more than 100 feet, this map, which is highly detailed, gives a new perspective to how moving pieces would interact during battle; not only with each other but also with all the coalition forces within the theater and various terrain features around Kuwait. During the visit the participants took the time to rehearse various portions of Lucky Sentinel and they got the chance to see how events might unfold.
Members of the 122nd Rear Operations Center returned in April 2001 following a 15-day deployment to Kuwait for annual training. The unit participated in Exercise Lucky Sentinel 2001, which is held by Central Command to exercise the defense of Kuwait. The 23-member unit, which is based in Savannah, conducted an operations center in Camp Doha, just east of Kuwait City. The unit was responsible for coordinating rear area force protection.
Third U.S. Army/U.S. Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT) employs a unique tool to improve coalition interoperability during exercises and contingencies in theater. In addition to direct staff-to-staff coordination and traditional liaison officers, ARCENT also plans to use an ad hoc coordinating staff. This staff would consist of coalition and joint personnel dedicated to ensuring unity of effort between U.S. and other Arab coalition military forces. One of ARCENT's objectives during CPX Lucky Sentinel 00 was to exercise this staff organization, referred to as the Friendly Force Coordination Center (F2C2). The F2C2 operation was considered a success upon which to build in future exercises.
Over 100 soldiers of the 377th Theater Support Command (TSC) participated in Lucky Sentinel 00, a 14-day training exercise in Kuwait designed to test and evaluate a typical contingency deployment. They were among over 1,300 U.S. troops to join a much larger multinational force. Unit members said that they are even more confident and prepared after this real-world experience.
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