Under the patronage of HRM King Abdullah II of Jordan, represented by HRH  Prince Faysal bin Hussein, and with special support of the Jordanian Special Operations Forces, the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) held the 6th Middle East Special Operations Commanders Conference (MESOC) at the Royal Hotel Conference Hall in Amman, Jordan on Monday 07 May 2012.


More than 50 Arab and international delegations headed by Ministers, Chiefs-of-Staff & Commanders of Special Operations Forces attended the conference, including: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, UAE, Yemen, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA.

General Meshal al-Zaban, Chief-of-Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces delivered the keynote speech.  He argued that “the enemies of the peace will always try to acquire the newest technologies in order to sabotage peace. This is why we should always be ready to face those threats, not only by using high-tech equipment, but also by expending our knowledge and experience and empowering our self-confidence.”

He asserted that the Jordanian Army always stood by the Arabs and helped them face all security threats. Al-Zaban expressed his pride that 80,000 Jordanian Armed Forces are taking part of the peace forces worldwide. He finally stressed the importance of the continuation of the war on terrorism using the Armed Forces as well as the education.

Session One, chaired by INEGMA President and Former Commander of the UAE Air Force & Air Defense Maj. General (Ret.) Khaled Abdullah Al Bu Ainnain, featured 3 speakers. Brigadier General Khalid Bani Yaseen, Commander of the Jordanian Joint Special Operations talked about "The Evolution of Special Forces in Capabilities and Mission".

Session Two, was chaired by Brigadier General Omer Al Khaldi, Chief of Strategic Planning at the Royal Jordanian Armed Forces. Major General Jörg Vollmer, Commander of the German Special Operations Division, Germany presented a paper on the “Mobility & Firepower in Enhancing Special Operations”. Brigadier General Chamel Roukoz, Commander of the Lebanese Special Forces briefed the audience on “Future Challenges in Combating Terrorism & Role of Special Forces”. From his side, Major General Maurizio Fioravanti, Commander of the Joint Special Forces Command in Italy made a presentation on the “Special Operations Forces in Personnel Recovery Operations”.

The first topic of the final Plenary Session focused on the “Development of the Polish Special Operation Forces” and was presented by Brigadier General Piotr Patalong, Chief of Staff of the Polish Special Operations Command. He was followed by Brigadier Dan Fortune, Deputy Commander of the Australian Special Operations Command who gave an overview on the “Use of Simulation in the Training of Special Forces”. The final presentation was given by Colonel Aref Al Zaben, Commander of King Abdullah II, 37th Royal Special Forces Brigade of Jordan. He talked about the role of “The Message of Amman” in Afghanistan.

MESOC is sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton & Volga DNPR Airlines (Gold), Goodrich & Oshkosh Defense (Silver).