Lebanon: MILAN marksmanship training for the benefit of soldiers FCR

26 December 2012 to 12 January 2013, the Force Commander Reserve (FCR) was conducted during three weeks initial training specialty (ISP) shooter missile infantry light anti-tank (MILAN).

The group of students, consisting of 16 military squadron lighting and Investigation (EEI) and 3 military company VBCI followed a phase of theoretical instruction in the French camp Dayr Kifa and phase implementation of the Spanish camp Marjayoun. Courses focused particularly on the implementation of the weapon system, firing techniques simulator (DX 143) and more traditional materials such as identification and topography.

The training concluded with a series of tests including a walk with the position and ammunition, installation position, environmental observation and shooting simulator. A ceremony that took place in Deyr Kifa, formalized the end of the ISP with the delivery to each participant a certificate of practice MILAN shooter. These courses complement those already held by the squadron personnel lighting and investigation undertaken in Lebanon and patrol of light armored vehicles equipped with this weapon station (VBL MILAN).

Lebanon: transfer of authority from the Reserve Force Commander

The ceremony of transfer of authority from the Force Commander Reserve (FCR) was held on Dayr Kifa camp in Lebanon September 24, 2012.

Colonel Eric Peltier, commanding officer of the 1st Hussars paratroopers succeeded Colonel Philip Francis, commanding officer of the regiment of Chad.

Chaired by the Italian General Paolo Serra, head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the ceremony was marked by the presence of numerous civil and military authorities, including several representatives of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

During six months the mandate of DAMAN XVII participated in the preservation of stability in southern Lebanon and the strengthening of cooperation with the LAF achieving nearly 600 patrols a total of 368 000 kilometers. In addition, 16 joint training exercises with the FAL reflect the intensity of bilateral cooperation.

Syrian jets bomb farm fields in north Lebanon

BEIRUT: Two Syrian warplanes bombed farm fields belonging to a border town in northeast Lebanon Monday, high-ranking Lebanese security sources told The Daily Star, in an unprecedented aerial shelling by Syria of Lebanese territory since the end of the 1975-90 Civil War. The farm fields of Khirbet Dawoud, 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory, were the target of the aerial attack by the MiG-type aircrafts, the sources said. Following the aerial bombardment, Syrian reconnaissance planes and helicopters flew over the area for a brief period of time. Khirbet Dawoud is part of the Arsal region which shares 50 kilometers of border with Syria. The area is also described as the main point for arms smuggling between Arsal and Syrian territory. Security and official sources in the area said no casualties have been reported. The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three rockets were fired in the incident and that the Lebanese Army headed to the site immediately following the attack, which took place at around 10.30 a.m. The raid comes following an attack by rebels on a Syrian Army checkpoint near that border area Sunday night which left four soldiers and one officer dead. Earlier this month, Syrian warplanes and helicopters flew at low altitudes over the northern region of Wadi Khaled. North Lebanon border villages have also come under shelling from the Syrian side of the border on several occasions. Some of the attacks have led to deaths and material damage.

Lebanon Fears A Firestorm As Old Rifts That Led To Civil War Open Up Again

A respite from almost a fortnight of clashes in Lebanon's second city, Tripoli, raised hopes yesterday that the release of some kidnapping victims would ease a growing threat of unchecked violence spilling over from the Syrian civil war.
But the lull failed to douse an enduring fear elsewhere in Lebanon that the enmity in the north will inevitably spread to other parts of the country. Another day of soaring violence in neighbouring Syria instead fuelled concerns that the raging civil war would further spill beyond the borders of its unstable neighbour.
Turkey yesterday announced that one of 11 Lebanese Shia men kidnapped north of Aleppo in Syria in May had been released in what was hailed by his captors as an "act of good will". Hussein Ali Omar's release came after a request by the head of the Committee of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon, Sheikh Hasan Qaterji.
Hours later a leader of the country's Meqdad clan, which kidnapped 20 Syrians inside Lebanon earlier this month, said all but four would soon be freed in a bid to defuse tensions.

Lebanon – Huey II helicopters

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of apossible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Lebanon for six Huey II helicopters and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $63 million.
The Government of Lebanon has requested a possible sale of 6 Huey II helicopters, spare and repair parts,
maintenance, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training
equipment, repair and return, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $63 million.
This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by providing Lebanon with necessary mobility capabilities to maintain internal security, enforce United Nation’s Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, and counter terrorist threats.
The proposed sale of these aircraft will enable Lebanon to meet present and future challenges posed by internal