The Kuwait Armed Forces are the military forces of the State of Kuwait. They consist of the Kuwait Air Force, the Kuwait Army, the Kuwait Navy & the Kuwait National Guard. The governing bodies are the Kuwait Ministry of Defense, the Kuwait Ministry of Interior, and the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate. The Emir of Kuwait is the commander-in-chief of all defense forces while the Crown Prince is the deputy commander.
Ali Al Salem Air Base is a military air base situated in Kuwait, approximately 37 km (23 mi) from the Iraqi border, and roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Al Jahra. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and hosted the Royal Air Force (RAF), United States Air Force (USAF), and United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel and aircraft during Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The base also hosted the Royal Air Force (RAF) during Operation Telic. Since the cessation of those operations, the base has been returned to the control of the Kuwaiti Government, with the USAF continuing to maintain a presence alongside their Kuwait Air Force counterparts. The principal USAF unit on base is the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country for the next seven months. The invasion was condemned internationally, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted numerous resolutions urging Iraq to withdraw from Kuwaiti territory. The Iraqi military, however, continued to occupy Kuwait and defied all orders by the UNSC. After initially establishing the "Republic of Kuwait" as a puppet state, Iraq annexed the entire country on 28 August 1990; northern Kuwait became the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District and was merged into the existing Basra Governorate, while southern Kuwait was carved out as the all-new Kuwait Governorate. By November 1990, the adoption of UNSC Resolution 678 officially issued Iraq an ultimatum to withdraw unconditionally by 15 January 1991 or else be removed by "all necessary means" from Kuwaiti territory. In anticipation of a war with Iraq, the UNSC authorized the assembly of an American-led military coalition.
The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) in the United States Army National Guard. It was formed from the inactivated 32nd Infantry Division in 1967. It is the largest unit in the Wisconsin National Guard.
Camp Arifjan is a United States Army installation in Kuwait which accommodates elements of the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard. The camp is funded and was built by the government of Kuwait. Military personnel from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Romania and Poland are also forward-deployed there. Camp Arifjan is located south of Kuwait City, and west of the Shuaiba Port and Kuwait Naval Base (KNB). Camp Arifjan is divided into 7 zones.
The Kuwait Air Force is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Kuwait. The Air Force headquarters is located at Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, with the remaining forces stationed at Air Defense Brigades, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base. The Kuwait Air Force numbers approximately 2,500 officers and enlisted personnel.
Camp Buehring is a staging post for US troops in the northwestern region of Kuwait. From its founding in January 2003 to the present date, the base was used for military troops heading north into Iraq and is the primary location for the Middle Eastern Theater Reserve. The areas surrounding Camp Buehring, known as the Udairi Range Complex, is largely uninhabited, except for a few nomadic Bedouin tribes raising camels, goats, and sheep. Camp New York is nearby, in the same Udairi Range Complex.
Nasiriyah Airport is a public and military airport located 23 km (14 mi) southwest of Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Camp Doha was the main U.S. Army base in Kuwait, and played a pivotal role in the U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the 1991 Gulf War and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The complex is located on a small peninsula on Kuwait Bay, west of Kuwait City. It was initially a large industrial warehouse complex and was taken in hand by the U.S. Army for conversion to its current role in 1998 during Operation Desert Thunder.
Mahmud Salem Horan Mohammed Mutlak Al Ali is a citizen of Syria, best known for the more than eight years he spent in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba after being classified as an enemy combatant by the United States. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 537. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report that Mahmud Salem Horan Mohammed Mutlak Al Ali was born on 5 May 1974, in Doha, Qatar. He and Palestinian Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa were released to Germany on 16 September 2010.
The 407th Air Expeditionary Group was a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces Central Command, 332d Air Expeditionary Wing. It was stationed at Ali Air Base, Iraq, until the closure of the base on 16 December 2011. It was activated as part of the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing due to Military intervention against ISIL at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait. In 2023 Jane's Defence Weekly confirmed a June 2022 AFCENT statement that the 407 AEG had been inactivated.
The United States Navy Customs mission is one that is assigned to the Commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG). The mission is overseen in the Central Command Theater of Operations by Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group Forward Headquarters, as well as the Commander, USCENTCOM.
The 160th Signal Brigade is a communications formation of the United States Army, currently based at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. It traces its history back to the end of the Second World War.
The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade combat team of the Florida Army National Guard. The 53rd Infantry Brigade is the largest National Guard unit in the state of Florida. The brigade was one of fifteen enhanced readiness brigades, designed and trained to support active duty divisions. The brigade includes 32 units in Florida and Alabama with 4,166 authorized personnel.
Camp New York is a United States Military installation in Kuwait.
The 401st Army Field Support Brigade, located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, after moving from Afghanistan, where it leverages the full might of the Army Materiel Enterprise across Central Command’s area of responsibility in Southwest Asia.
The 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment, also known as the "Red Fox" Battalion came into being on 22 September 1917 at Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas, as part of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, better known as the Iron Brigade. The 120th Field Artillery Regiment previously had been the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry. The history of the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Regiment goes back the American Civil War days.
First Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment "Darkhorse" is an element of the Florida Army National Guard, headquartered in Panama City, Florida with units throughout the Panhandle. It was formerly 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry and officially converted to cavalry on 1 September 2007 when the 53rd Infantry Brigade converted from a "separate brigade" to the brigade combat team structure.
Ashab al-Kahf is an Iraqi Shia extremist militant group that has been described as a proxy formation of Iran. The group first emerged in August 2019, but increased in activity following the American assassination of Qasem Soleimani. It has attacked targets associated with the United States using rockets and improvised explosive devices. The group has also attacked targets associated with Turkey. The group denies maintaining relationships with other Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary groups, such as Kata'ib Hezbollah and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.
