The 8th Middle East Special Operations Commanders Conference (MESOC 2016) took place Monday May 9th 2016 at the Le Royal Hotel in Amman, Jordan.
Held under the patronage of His Royal Majesty King Abdullah II and supported by the Jordanian Joint Special Operations Forces Command, MESOC 2016 is the official conference of SOFEX taking place in Amman between 10-13 May 2016.
Organized by SEGMA, MESOC 2016 began with the arrival of HRH Prince Faisal bin Hussein followed by the Jordanian salute. Riad Kahwaji, Chief Executive Officer of SEGMA presented opening remarks to the distinguished guests and spoke about the introduction of hybrid and fourth generation warfare into the security paradigm, elements of which will be discussed through presentations and discussions planned for the day.
Amer Tabbah, Director General of SOFEX cited the Great Arab Revolt 100 years ago this year, which marked a turning point for the region by creating a single, unified state under the leadership of the Sherif of Mecca. Amer Tabbah hoped the participants would strengthen existing relationships and forge new partnerships.
The Keynote Address was provided by General Meshaal Al Zeben, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jordanian Armed Forces. Al Zeben spoke about the growing terrorist threat in the Middle East and around the world. Conventional and irregular tactics, techniques and procedures are being combined with cyber power to posit a new security threat by emerging hybrid threats. Special Forces facilitate joint air and land integration, which is critical against emerging threats. Communication networks have a vital role to play, and reliable weapons and systems as well as precision strike capabilities are critical to effective and highly targeted direct action against threats.
Major General (Ret.) Mohammed Farghal, Director General of the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS), introduced Brigadier General Adnan AlAbadi, Commander, Joint Special Forces Command, Jordan, who presented on “Improving Battlefield Performance of Special Forces Operators against Emerging Irregular Threats.”
The second presentation of the session, “Global Special Operations in the Emerging Environment,” was delivered by General Tony Thomas, Commander of the Special Operations Command, United States.
The first presentation on the second session, “Effectively Developing and Deploying Capabilities for Information Operations in Special Missions,” was delivered by Brigadier Shane Gabriel, Chief of Staff, Special Operations Command, Australia.
The second presentation, “Employment of Special Forces in Sub-Conventional Conflict in Complex Environments and Challenging Topographies,” was delivered by Major General Tahir Masood, Commander, Special Services Group (SSG), Pakistan.
The third presentation, “The Lebanese Army Special Operations Experience in Combating Terrorism,” was delivered by Colonel Fadi Kfoury, Strike Operations Forces Commander, Lebanon.
The first presentation in the third session, “Soldier Modernization for Special Operations Forces – Assessing Achievements and the Outlook to 2020,” was delivered by Colonel Andre Harivongs, Chief, Special Operations Capacities Development Division, Special Operations Command, France.
The second presentation, “Agility and Mobility versus Protection and Firepower – Achieving a Flexible Force Posture for Special Operations Forces” was delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Michal Cymbalista, Poland.
The final presentation of the conference, “Identifying Strategic Enablers of Rapid Response and Situational Adaptation for Special Operations Missions,” was delivered by Major General Dag Baehr, Commander, Special Operations Command KSK, Germany.
