Emerald Warrior 2016

U.S. Army Gen. Raymond Thomas, Commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) gives a mass in-brief during Emerald Warrior, May 2, 2016 at King Auditorium, Hurlburt Field Air Force Base, Fla. Emerald Warrior is the Department of Defense's only irregular warfare exercise, allowing joint and combined partners to train together and prepare for real world contingency operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jasmonet Jackson/ Reviewed)

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Emerald Warrior 2016

U.S. Army Gen. Raymond Thomas, Commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) gives a mass in-brief during Emerald Warrior, May 2, 2016 at King Auditorium, Hurlburt Field Air Force Base, Fla. Emerald Warrior is the Department of Defense's only irregular warfare exercise, allowing joint and combined partners to train together and prepare for real world contingency operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jasmonet Jackson)

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Emerald Warrior 2016

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dave Wieznicki, a combat medic assigned to the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., prepares to litter carry a patient to a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk at Eglin Range, Fla., May 4, 2016, during Exercise Emerald Warrior 16. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operations Command sponsored mission rehearsal exercise during which joint special operations forces train to respond to real and emerging worldwide threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jasmonet Jackson)

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Emerald Warrior 2016

U.S. Army special operations combat medics from the 528th Susainment Brigade evaluate a patient on a MC-130J Commando II at Hurlburt field, Fla. during Exerise Emerald Warrior, May 4, 2016. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operation Command sponsored mission rehearsal exercise during which joint special operations forces train to respond to real and emerging worldwide threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Paul Labbe)

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Emerald Warrior 2016

U.S. Air Force Airmen transport simulated patients to a MC-130J Commando II at Eglin Range, Fla., May, 4, 2016, during Exercise Emerald Warrior 16. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operation Command sponsored mission rehearsal exercise during which joint special operations forces train to respond to real and emerging worldwide threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Logan Carlson)

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Emerald Warrior 2016

Special Tactics Training Squadron Airmen from the 24th Special Operations Wing fast rope from a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk at Hurlburt Field, Fla., May 4, 2016, during Emerald Warrior 16. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operations Command sponsored mission rehearsal exercise during which joint special operations forces train to respond to real and emerging worldwide threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Trevor T. McBride)

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Forces converge for Emerald Warrior 2016 exercise

Published May 2, 2016
By Capt. Zach Anderson
AFSOC Public Affairs

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Several hundred U.S. and partner-nation military members gathered inside King Auditorium here today for a mass in-briefing session that marked the official kick off of Emerald Warrior 2016.

Emerald Warrior is an annual Department of Defense exercise that focuses on irregular warfare and hones special operations forces air and ground combat skills. The two-week exercise will run May 2 – 13, and it will allow participants to execute advanced tactical scenarios and strengthen joint warfighting relationships for future deployments. The exercise leverages lessons learned from past and current overseas contingency operations to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders.

U.S. Army Gen. Raymond A. Thomas, U.S. Special Operations Command commander, addressed the crowd at the briefing and declared Emerald Warrior a “pivotally important exercise.”

“We have to transform ourselves through these types of exercises to prepare for the future fight that will be out there,” said Thomas.
The exercise is hosted by Air Force Special Operations Command, and it allows U.S. special operations forces and partner nation participants to train together to strengthen their relationships and develop interoperability for future deployments. Special operations personnel use the exercise as a way to further develop tactics, techniques and procedures for emerging concepts of special operations forces warfare.

“This is about interoperability, joint operations and working with partner nations to get better as a team,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Lee, Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center deputy commander and Emerald Warrior 2016 Exercise Director.

This year’s iteration of Emerald Warrior features more than 1,500 special operations and conventional personnel to include Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine special operations assets and several partner nation allies. The exercise will employ more than 40 aircraft and will take place in locations throughout the southeastern United States in Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Gulf of Mexico.