The commander of the Royal Omani Army, Major General Matar bin Salim bin Rashid Al Balushi, accompanied by the commander of the Qatar Land Forces, Major General Saeed Hesayen Mohammed Al-Khayarin, went this morning to the Al Qaqaa base, 28 kilometers southwest of Doha, for a visit to the headquarters that houses the Italian soldiers of the operation Any, the bilateral support mission to the Armed Forces of Qatar to ensure the safety of the World Cup, the first to be hosted by a Middle Eastern country, which will be played in the Arabian Gulf emirate between November 20 and December 18 .
The military authorities, with their respective delegations in tow, were received by Brigadier General Giuseppe Bossa, commander of the inter-force contingent led by the "Sassari" brigade of the Army, which includes about 560 soldiers from the Armed Forces and the Carabinieri with 46 land vehicles, a ship and two aircraft.
At the center of the talks, in addition to the tasks and purposes of the mission, the possible cooperation between the specialized components of the Italian and Qatari military units also in view of the Watan, the multinational joint and inter-agency exercise scheduled to take place between 23 and 29 October in the port of Doha, which would have the dual purpose of strengthening relations between Italy and Qatar and perfecting the intervention capabilities of the Qatari army, of the Civil Defense and the Italian assets for CBRN defense in view of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The meeting continued in the square of the base where a static display of vehicles, materials and equipment supplied to the Italian contingent was set up.
In particular, the Army has deployed specialized EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) assets, for CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) defense and canine units. For demonstration purposes, a series of events and technical-tactical exercises set in different fictitious urban scenarios were simulated, characterized by emergency situations and potential risks deriving from the presence of explosive devices close to critical infrastructures and crowded places.
The Navy, which will contribute to the safety of international waters off Doha with the Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Paolo Thaon of Revel, illustrated the potential of the "REMUS 100" (Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS), the self-driving underwater vehicle that will operate near the coast. Thanks to the ability to scan the seabed, REMUS will be able to identify the presence of dangerous objects or any bombs present on the seabed.
The Air Force, which will contribute to the control of the airspace to counter the possible unauthorized use of mini and micro drones, has deployed a Counter-Unmanned Aerial Anti-drone System (C-UAS) consisting of portable jammer devices and the sedentary anti-drone system ACUS (AMI Counter UAS).
On the sidelines of the meeting, the commander of the Italian contingent highlighted the commitment of the carabinieri in military police and advising activities, present with a device composed of 14 units, including the provost marshal, figure of direct support of the commander of the mission and in particular a core of 10 advisors, consultants of the security forces (Gendarmerie, Guardia dell'Emiro, Military Police) and of the Special Forces of Qatar.
To the lively satisfaction expressed by the commander of the Royal Omani Army, who thanked the Italian Armed Forces for the solid and lasting relationship of collaboration and the sense of friendship and cooperation established over the years between Italy and Oman, the satisfaction of General Al-Khayarin who wanted to underline the excellent level of amalgam reached by the Qatari and Italian military for the implementation of the defense and security system of the sporting event.
