Commemoration of the conclusion of a US-Maldives joint military training exercise by the name ‘Black Marlin’

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has recently expressed that their relations with the US arms forces are the strongest they have ever been, and that interactions and engagements between the two forces have grown exponentially over the past few years.

In line with this, both the parties have jointly commenced several military training programs and initiatives – one of these being the recently concluded ‘Black Marlin’ training program. A graduation ceremony was held to commemorate the conclusion of the program where participants were awarded their certificates of completion. The event was graced by the Deputy Commander of the US Army Pacific, Major General Daniel F. McDaniel and Chief of Defense Force of Maldives, Major General Abdulla Shamaal.

The program which began on 1^st March at the Northern Area of MNDF in Lhaviyani Maafilaafushi had covered a broad range of topics such as technical combat casualty care, house clearing, urban operations and patrolling. As part of the ceremony, participants carried out a short demonstration of what they had learned during the course of training.

The program was aimed to train officers on the operation tasks they have to carry out in addition to enhancing their operational readiness and capability amongst other things.  

(Photos: MNDF)