The joint Saudi-American exercise “Protection Shield 3” was launched on Sunday between the Saudi armed forces and the American forces, to train in managing crises resulting from weapons of mass destruction.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the exercises were launched with the participation of the Fifth Air Defense Group in the Eastern Province, the Ministry of Health, the Saudi Red Crescent and Saudi Civil Defense.
The opening ceremony of the exercises began with a briefing by Colonel Abdul-Rahman bin Mutaib Al-Harbi about the stages of the exercise. Then the commander of the Fifth Saudi Air Defense Group, the commander of the exercise, Major General Khaled bin Saeed Abu Qais, delivered a speech in which he welcomed the participants from all sides, praising the participation of friendly US forces in the exercises.
Major General Abu Qais indicated that such exercises aims to "enhance joint cooperation, exchange experiences between the Saudi and American forces, and raise the training level of our armed forces," noting that the objectives of the exercises are to reach the highest levels of coordination between the branches of the armed forces and to have an immediate and effective response against weapons of mass destruction as well as achieving cooperation at the national level with other government agencies.
